Diffusion of imperial press in Bessarabia and censorship institutions

Looking at the local press until the end of the first half of the 19th century we attest the fact that the Russian imperial press was exclusively diffused in Bessarabia. The most spread newspapers were the tribunes – Санкт Петербургские Ведомости (Sankt Peterburgskije Vedomosti) and Московские Ведомости (Moskovskije Vedomosti). The tsarist clerks of all levels were reading Nicolae Greci's pro-governmental paper – Северная Пчела (Severnaja Pčela). After 1830 the local archives have conserved sufficient evidences attesting the diffusion of special publications, with a mainly economical or informative character sponsored by authorities. Different departments and ministers were among the editors of these publications. The later were commissioned with the help of local administration to diffuse it in province. Many addresses and circulars registered in the Fond of Governor's Office from Bessarabia stay as evidence to it. Also, Odessa's periodical publications were largely spread in province starting with the third decade of the 19th century. The literary periodicals were especially popular, as for example Одесский Aльманах (Odesskij Al'manakh) whose pages contained information about Bessarabia. The private press which never got the support of imperial authorities was also spread in the province. The information regarding its diffusion is attested by some private or governmental library catalogues only. Archival documents are concise and contradictory. The investigation of imperial press spread in province needs an approach from the perspective of a critical synthesis of data gathered from different sources and collections. The censorship and its impact on imperial press spread in Bessarabia can be traced especially by private editions. The main source of available data on the issue of imperial press diffused in province is the fond of military/civil Governor's Office of Bessarabia. Or, such a documentation context is not favorable to our research and needs to be explained.