Posrednik Publishing House

an educational publishing house founded in St. Petersburg in 1884 on the initiative of L. N. Tolstoy. It was headed by V. G. Chertkov, by P. I. Biriukov, and, from 1897 to 1925, by I. I. Gorbunov-Posadov.

In 1892, Posrednik moved to Moscow, where I. D. Sytin took over the printing and distribution of the house’s publications. Posrednik’s basic aim was to publish literary and didactic works priced within the reach of the masses in order to replace the lubok (cheap popular) literature inundating the book market.

L. N. Tolstoy edited several books and wrote a number of prefaces for Posrednik. The house issued large printings of many books by Tolstoy, V. M. Garshin, V. G. Korolenko, M. Gorky and other Russian writers. Books by a number of foreign writers, including Thoreau and Emerson, were also published according to a schedule worked out by Tolstoy. In addition, Posrednik published works of a practical nature, on such subjects as agriculture and home economics. It published a number of series, including Rural Life and the Peasant Economy, Library for Children and Young People, and Universal Brotherhood. Posrednik also published a number of journals, including Maiak (The Beacon) and Svobodnoe vospitanie (Liberated Education). After 1917 it published chiefly children’s books. The publishing house existed until 1935.