TY - THES
AU - Miranda Beaven Remnek
AB - Although the Russia of Nicholas I has traditionally been viewed as a period of stagnation, interpretations of its political and economic development have recently undergone reevaluation. But its cultural engagement continues to be seen as the property of literary aficionados limited by gender, convention, and social position—a view based on impressionistic sources and canonical works. This study challenges such a minimalist interpretation of Nicholaevan culture. It seeks to demonstrate that more readers were reading than is usually acknowledged; that a marked expansion took place in the early years of the reign; and that the reasons should be sought in the socio-economic and cultural contexts.

In depicting the multifaceted nature of Nicholaevan readership the study draws on macro-level tenets of readership theory and micro-level factors in Western reading patterns. Departing from the usual division into elite and popular culture, a major thrust has been to analyze the dynamics of cultural diffusion in the middle ranks of society. Two approaches were used. First, the study downplays the evidence of canonical works, and concentrates on the production and reception of mediocre but frequently-read second-rate literature. Second, the analysis is based on source material that includes traditional qualitative evidence produced by the elite, but emphasizes a body of quantitative evidence that also reflects middle-class individuals (11,898 records of subscriptions to 22 Russian imprints, 1825–1846).

Computer-assisted analysis of this data challenges the traditional image of a single reading public, presenting instead a kaleidoscope of established and emerging interpretive communities at different levels with a focus on three main groups: lower civil servants, professionals and merchants. Of 2,259 civil servant subscriptions, at least 1,022 represented the lower ranks. Professional subscriptions numbered only 426, but the striking diversity of this group's subscription categories speaks to the expansion of professional reading practices. The reading horizons of merchant guilds were less extended than those of other groups (merchants showed more interest in fiction than did professionals), but the number of merchant subscriptions was surprisingly high (1,080). Presented in the context of socio-economic stimuli, these findings confirm the existence of multiple audiences more varied than normally allowed.


CY - Berkeley, CA
LA - English
M3 - Ph.D. Dissertation
N2 - Although the Russia of Nicholas I has traditionally been viewed as a period of stagnation, interpretations of its political and economic development have recently undergone reevaluation. But its cultural engagement continues to be seen as the property of literary aficionados limited by gender, convention, and social position—a view based on impressionistic sources and canonical works. This study challenges such a minimalist interpretation of Nicholaevan culture. It seeks to demonstrate that more readers were reading than is usually acknowledged; that a marked expansion took place in the early years of the reign; and that the reasons should be sought in the socio-economic and cultural contexts.

In depicting the multifaceted nature of Nicholaevan readership the study draws on macro-level tenets of readership theory and micro-level factors in Western reading patterns. Departing from the usual division into elite and popular culture, a major thrust has been to analyze the dynamics of cultural diffusion in the middle ranks of society. Two approaches were used. First, the study downplays the evidence of canonical works, and concentrates on the production and reception of mediocre but frequently-read second-rate literature. Second, the analysis is based on source material that includes traditional qualitative evidence produced by the elite, but emphasizes a body of quantitative evidence that also reflects middle-class individuals (11,898 records of subscriptions to 22 Russian imprints, 1825–1846).

Computer-assisted analysis of this data challenges the traditional image of a single reading public, presenting instead a kaleidoscope of established and emerging interpretive communities at different levels with a focus on three main groups: lower civil servants, professionals and merchants. Of 2,259 civil servant subscriptions, at least 1,022 represented the lower ranks. Professional subscriptions numbered only 426, but the striking diversity of this group's subscription categories speaks to the expansion of professional reading practices. The reading horizons of merchant guilds were less extended than those of other groups (merchants showed more interest in fiction than did professionals), but the number of merchant subscriptions was surprisingly high (1,080). Presented in the context of socio-economic stimuli, these findings confirm the existence of multiple audiences more varied than normally allowed.


PB - University of California
PP - Berkeley, CA
PY - 1999
EP - 477 pp.
TI - The Expansion of Russian Reading Audiences, 1828-1848
ER -