Syn Otechestva

(Son of the Fatherland). (1) A historical, political, and literary journal published in St. Petersburg from 1812 to 1844 and from 1847 to 1852. It was founded by N. I. Grech. In different years, Syn otechestva appeared weekly, twice a week, or monthly. Its publisher-editors were successively Grech, A. F. Voeikov, F. V. Bulgarin, A. F. Smirdin, and A. V. Nikitenko. From 1829 to 1835, Syn otechestva was published together with the journal Severnyi arkhiv (The Northern Archive) as Syn otechestva i Severnyi arkhiv (Son of the Fatherland and The Northern Archive).

From 1812 to 1814, Syn otechestva published much valuable material on the Patriotic War of 1812. Until 1825 it was one of the best Russian journals and was influenced by the ideology of the Decembrists. Later it became conservative and monarchist in orientation.

(2) A weekly political, scientific, and literary journal published in St. Petersburg from 1856 to 1861. Its publisher-editor was the historian and journalist A. V. Starchevskii. It was a moderate liberal opposition journal.

(3) A daily political, literary, and scientific newspaper published in St. Petersburg between 1862 and 1901, and the first inexpensive mass-readership newspaper in Russia. Its editor-publishers were successively A. V. Starchevskii, I. I. Uspenskii, and S. E. Dobrodeev. During the last years of the newspaper’s existence, its nominal editor-publisher was A. K. Sheller-Mikhailov, and its de facto editor-publisher, S. N. Krivenko. From the 1860’s to the 1880’s, Syn otechestva had a moderate liberal bourgeois orientation; in the 1890’s and early 1900’s it was a liberal Narodnik (Populist) newspaper.