Kolokol (newspaper)

''Kolokol'' (russian: Колоколъ, lit. 'bell') was the first Russian censorship-free weekly newspaper in Russian and French languages, published by Alexander Herzen and Nikolai Ogaryov in London (1857–1865) and Geneva (1865–1867). It had a circulation of up to 2500 copies. Despite being banned in Russia, it was well known and had a significant influence on the reformist and revolutionary movements of the 1860s.

Initially the publishers viewed ''Kolokol'' as a supplement (прибавочные листы) to a literary and socio-political almanac '' Polyarnaya Zvezda'' (Polar Star), but it soon became the leader of the Russian censorship-free press. The newspapers '' Pod sud'' (To Trial; 1859–1862) and '' Obshcheye veche'' (General Veche; 1862–1864) were published as supplements to ''Kolokol''.

At ''Kolokols base was a theory of Russian peasant socialism, elaborated by Herzen. Its political platform included democratic demands for liberation of peasants with land, and abolition of censorship and corporal punishment. Besides the articles by Herzen and Ogaryov, ''Kolokol'' published a variety of material on people's living conditions, social struggle in Russia, and information about abuses and secret plans of the authorities. Nikolai Dobrolyubov, Nikolai Serno-Solovyovich, Mikhail Mikhailov, Nikolai Utin, Lev Mechnikov, Mikhail Elpidin and others were among the paper's correspondents and distributors. Writers and liberal figures such as Ivan Aksakov, Yuri Samarin, Alexander Koshelyov, Ivan Turgenev and others delivered material for ''Kolokol''.

After the Emancipation reform of 1861, ''Kolokol'' took the side of revolutionary democracy. The newspaper began publishing texts of proclamations, articles by Herzen and Ogaryov condemning and exposing problems with the reform, and other material from the Russian revolutionary underground. ''Kolokol'' favored the formation of a clandestine revolutionary organization Land and Liberty. After the 1861 reform, ''Kolokol'' lost most of its liberal readers due to Herzen's and Ogaryov's active support of the January Uprising in Poland.

In 1866, Dmitry Karakozov tried to assassinate Tsar Alexander II. Kolokol publicly condemned terrorism, but continued to lose readers. In an open letter to Alexander II, Herzen admitted: "There were times when you read Kolokol - now you do not read it any more."Письмо к императору Александру II
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In order to strengthen its ties with the new émigrés concentrated in Switzerland, ''Kolokol'' moved its office to Geneva. While retaining its previous orientation, it was now published in French as "Kolokol (La Cloche)" with the aim of introducing Russia to Western European readers. The publication was unpopular. Publication of Kolokol ceased in 1867 due to unfavorable conditions. In 1867–1869, they published ''Kolokol: A Supplement to the First Decade'' (Колокол. Прибавочный лист к первому десятилетию), six issues of ''Kolokol. Russian Edition'' (Колокол. Русское прибавление) and ''Supplement du Kolokol'' in French. In 1870, Ogaryov together with Sergey Nechayev published six more issues of ''Kolokol'', which differed significantly from Herzen's ''Kolokol''.

External links

"Kolokol" digital archives in "Newspapers on the web and beyond"
the digital resource of the National Library of Russia
*Н.Я.Эйдельман "Герценовский "Колокол", Историческая библиотека школьника, Государственное учебно-педагогическое издательство, 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolokol
1857 establishments in England
Defunct newspapers published in Russia
Defunct weekly newspapers
French-language newspapers published in Switzerland
Newspapers published in Geneva
Newspapers published in London
Newspapers established in 1857
Publications disestablished in 1867
Russian-language newspapers
Weekly newspapers published in Switzerland