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 A.M.GORKY INSTITUTE OF WORLD LITERATURE
OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

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ISSN 2619-0311 (Print)
ISSN 2712-8512 (Online)

Journal Announcements as Artistic Statements: "I Understand What the First Step Means and Love It"

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  • Author: Liudmila I. Saraskina
  • Information about the author:

    DSc in Philology, Leading Researcher, Sector for Artistic Problems of Mass Media, State Institute for Art Studies, Kozitskii Lane, 5, 125009 Moscow, Russia.

    https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4844-4930

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • For citation:

    Saraskina, L.I. "Journal Announcements as Artistic Statements: 'I Understand What the First Step Means and Love It'." Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 2 (34), 2026, pp. 238-268. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2026-2-238-268
  • Received: 26 March 2026
  • Approved after reviewing: 02 Apr. 2026
  • Published: 25 June 2026
  • Issue: 2026 no. 2 (34)
  • Department: BIOGRAPHY
  • Pages: 238–268
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/LWAHRF
  • UDK: 821.161.1.0
  • BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • Keywords: Dostoevsky, small form, editorial announcements, "Zuboskal" ("A Scoffer"), new word, journal Vremya, "Announcement about the subscription," manifesto, Epokha, Grazhdanin
  • Abstract: The paper discusses editorial announcements about the publication of journals as a specific small form genre which Fyodor Dostoevsky used from the very beginning of his literary career. Some examples for such "Announcements" are cited: Vsyakaya vsyachina ("All sorts of things"), a journal founded by Catherine II; Sovremennik of A.S. Pushkin etc.Dostoevsky's first experience in this field was writing a highly sophisticated announcement of the forthcoming publication of the humorous almanac Zuboskal ("A Scoffer"), a literary project of N.A. Nekrasov. While explaining the goals, objectives and programme of the almanac, Dostoevsky broke the usual pattern of an announcement and widely expanded the boundaries of the traditional genre. The result was not a technical (official) "Announcement," but something utterly different: an imaginary fictional character suddenly came to life, a man-almanac.For the second time, writing an "Announcement" that broke the canon took place fifteen years after Zuboskal, when Dostoevsky, having come back to literature after ten years of hard labour and exile, faced the task of speaking out-that is of saying a new word and declaring his way in literature. "The announcement about the subscription to the journal Vremya" (1860) proved to be a new experience, in contrast to the experience of Zuboskal: the author was no longer going to "scoff" - to joke and laugh at everything, to spare no one, to cling to everything. Only the technique of expanding the genre's boundaries remained, but the contents, the prevailing mood, and the aim of the pronouncement were different."The announcement about the subscription to the journal Vremya" was written as a fiery literary manifesto, as an appeal, as a sermon —this announcement had to become a word to be proclaimed from a public podium, loudly, publicly. The aim was to explain (to proclaim!) how the journal Vremya and its editors understood the current state of public life and what were the spirit and direction of the journal.

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