Vedomosti

(News), the first printed Russian newspaper. It began publication by order of Peter I on Dec. 16, 1702. Vedomosti was preceded by the manuscript newspaper Kuranty (Current Events), which was put together in the second half of the 17th century for the tsar and his court.

The first issue of Vedomosti appeared on Dec. 16, 1702 according to some sources, or according to other sources, on Jan. 2, 1703. Until 1711 it was published in the Printing House in Moscow; thereafter, it was printed in Moscow and St. Petersburg alternately. In 1710, Vedomosti began to be illustrated with engravings. The newspaper bore various titles, including Vedomosti, Vedomosti moskovskie (Moscow News), and Vedomosti o voennykh i inykh delakh, do-stoinykh znaniia i pamiati, sluchivshikhsia v Moskovskom gosudarstve i vo inykh okrestnykh stranakh (News of Military and Other Matters Fit to Know and Remember Which Occurred in the State of Muscovy and in Other Surrounding Countries). The circulation and frequency of publication also varied from one to 70 issues a year and from a few dozen to 4,000 copies. Vedomosti contained news of the victories of the army and navy, the progress of industry, trade, and enlightenment; and foreign information. Peter I was the author of many reports of military victories. The editors were F. Polikarpov, M. Avramov (from 1711), and B. Volkov (from 1719). In 1727 the publication of Vedomosti became the responsibility of the Academy of Sciences, and from 1728 to 1914 it was published under the title, Sank-peterburgskie vedomosti (St. Petersburg News). Publication ceased in 1917.