Polina A. Zakharchuk

PhD in History, Senior Researcher

S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences

(Moscow, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-123-134

Abstract. The article analyses the methods of distribution of the "Gornyi Zhurnal" from the first issue in 1825 up to 1917. Based on archival documents from the collection of the Mining Department of the Russian Empire (RSHA. F. 37), containing materials of the Learned Mining Committee, which was directly involved in the editorial preparation of the "Gornyi Zhurnal", the key strategies that ensured its availability to the professional community of mining engineers have been studied. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of various distribution channels for the transfer and application of scientific and technical knowledge in the Russian Empire. The characteristic features of the subscription policy of the publication are identified and described, in particular, the system of benefits developed to attract mining engineers, as well as attempts to introduce a mandatory subscription. The effectiveness of state subsidies for the publication is analyzed. The author pays special attention to the practice of exchanging periodicals with other editorial offices, which contributed to the expansion of the information field and the establishment of scientific communication. The paper considers the conditions for the free transfer of copies of the "Gornyi Zhurnal" and highlights strategies for promoting and popularizing the publication by providing it to the libraries, as well as sending individual issues for research purposes. Attempts to distribute the journal abroad are also analyzed. The results of the study indicate the demand for the "Gornyi Zhurnal" both in Russia and abroad. Established scientific connections and a system of exchange of publications ensured prompt coverage of innovations and achievements in related industries. By the beginning of the 20th century, the "Gornyi Zhurnal" took the position of one of the leading domestic scientific and technical publications, becoming an important platform for knowledge exchange and mining development.
Keywords: history of science and technology, «Gornyi Zhurnal», The Learned Mining Committee, scientific and technical periodicals, dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge, history of periodicals.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Zakharchuk, PA 2025, ‘On the Methods of Distribution of the «Gornyi Zhurnal» in 1825–1917 (on the 200th Anniversary of the Periodical)’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 123–134, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-123-134 (in Russ.)

References

1. Bakshaev, AA 2012, ‘Materialy «Gornogo zhurnala» kak istochnik po istorii kazennoy gornozavodskoy promyshlennosti Urala pervoy poloviny XIX v.’ (Materials of the “Mining Journal” as a source on the history of the state-owned mining industry of the Urals in the first half of the 19th century). Dokument. Arkhiv. Istoriya. Sovremennost'. Izdatel'stvo Ural'skogo universiteta publ, Ekaterinburg, pp. 192–196. (In Russ.)
2. Batishchev, SD 2024, ‘Dorevolyutsionnyy «Gornyi zhurnal»: k elementam vnutrenney nauchnoy ekspertizy’ (Pre-Revolutionary “Gornyi zhurnal”: Towards Elements of Internal Scientific Expertise), Society: Philosophy, History, Culture, no. 10, pp. 204–211. (In Russ.)
3. Batishchev, SD & Neklyudov, EG 2023, ‘«Gornyi zhurnal» XIX – nachala XX v. skvoz' prizmu “yubilejnykh” statey’ (Gornyi Zhurnal in the 19th – early 20th century through a limbeck of jubilee publications). «Gornyi Zhurnal», no 12, pp. 112–117. (In Russ.)
4. Bystrova, NI 2005, ‘«Gornyi Zhurnal» i istoriya khimii (K 180-letiyu izdaniya zhurnala)’ ("Gornyi Zhurnal" and the history of chemistry (180th anniversary of the journal’s founding), Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniya i texniki, no. 4, pp. 74–92. (In Russ.)
5. Zakharchuk, PA 2019, ‘Sovetskoye izdaniye “Abrisov” G.V. de Gennina: istoriya odnogo arkheograficheskogo proyekta’ (Soviet edition of G.V. De Hennin’s "Outlines": the history of one archaeographic project), Bibliografiya. Nauchnyj zhurnal po bibliografovedeniyu, knigovedeniyu i bibliotekovedeniyu (Bibliography. Scientific Journal on Bibliography, Book Science and Library Science), no. 6. pp. 135–143. (In Russ.)
6. Kameneva, EE & Kamenev, EV 2022, ‘Istoriya gornozavodskogo dela na Aleksandrovskom Pushechnom zavode (Po materialam publikatsiy "Gornogo Zhurnala" za 1825–1845 gg.)’ (The history of mining business at the Alexander Cannon Factory (Based on the materials of the publications of the "Gornyi Zhurnal" for 1825–1845)), «Gornyi Zhurnal», no. 7, pp. 110–116. (In Russ.)
7. Mironos, AA 2000, Uchenye komitety i sovety ministerstv i vedomstv v XIX veke: zadachi, struktura, evolyuciya (Academic committees and councils of ministries and departments in the 19th century: tasks, structure, evolution), Izdatel'stvo Nizhegorodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta publ, Nizhny Novgorod. (In Russ.)
8. Neklyudov, EG 2020, ‘“Gornyi zhurnal” v kontekste podgotovki gornoy reformy v Rossii v 1860-e gg.’ (“Gornyi Zhurnal” in the context of mining reform in the 1860s in Russia), «Gornyi Zhurnal», no. 7, pp. 6–10. (In Russ.)
9. Orlov, PA 2013, ‘Sistema gornozavodskikh tovarishchestv kazennykh gornykh zavodov v otsenkakh sovremennikov – avto rov “Gornogo zhurnala” (vtoraya polovina XIX – nachalo XX v.)’ (The system of mining partnerships of state-owned mining plants in the assessments of contemporaries – authors of the “Gornyi Zhurnal” (second half of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century), Vestnik Chelyabinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Istoriya (Bulletin of Chelyabinsk State University. History), vol. 56, no. 18, pp. 16–26. (In Russ.)
10. Pamyatnaya knizhka dlya russkikh gornykh lyudey (Memorandum Books for the Russian Mining People) 1862, Tipografiya I. Ogrizko publ. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)
11. Pamyatnaya knizhka dlya russkikh gornykh lyudey (Memorandum Books for the Russian Mining People) 1863, Tipografiya I. Ogrizko publ, Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)
12. Pashkov, AM 2007, Gornozavodskoye kraevedeniye Karelii kontsa XVIII – nachala XX veka (Mining and local history of Karelia of the late 18th – early 20th century), Izd-vo KGPU publ, Petrozavodsk. (In Russ.)
13. Pfaffius, KE 1916, Nikolaevskiye chugunoplavil'nye, zhelezodelatel'nye i mekhanicheskiye zavody Irkutskoy gubernii (Nykolaiv iron-smelting, iron-making and mechanical plants of Irkutsk province), Tipografiya P. P. Soykina publ, Petrograd. (In Russ.)
14. Pfaffius, KE 1916, ‘Nikolaevskiye chugunoplavil'nye, zhelezodelatel'nye i mekhanicheskiye zavody Irkutskoy gubernii’ (Nykolaiv iron-smelting, iron-making and mechanical plants of Irkutsk province), «Gornyi Zhurnal», no. 4–5, pp. 21–56. (In Russ.)
15. Rossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy istoricheskiy arkhiv (Russian State Historical Archive (RSHA)). Fund 37. Inventory 69. File 10. (In Russ.)
16. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 46. File 982. (In Russ.)
17. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 2. File 2. (In Russ.)
18. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 46. File 956. (In Russ.)
19. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File 1083. (In Russ.)
20. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File. 1087. (In Russ.)
21. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File 1088. (In Russ.)
22. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File 1089. (In Russ.)
23. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File 1090. (In Russ.)
24. RSHA. Fund 37. Inventory 77. File 1129. (In Russ.)