On “Freedom of speech” in the era of Nicholai I (the case of Menzelinsk Uyezd)

Abstract

The article presents the story of the scandalous publication from Menzelinsk Uyezd, which was published in a Moscow newspaper in 1849 and provoked a series of events in public life. Based on archival documents and materials of the pre-revolutionary press, the author reconstructed the event series of the conflict situation, revealed the causes and consequences of the conflict, the motives of the parties, as well as the impact of the scandal on society. The publication is devoted to both the history of the Menzelinsk Uyezd and the specifics of how the local authorities in the provinces of the Russian Empire functioned. Therefore, the article reveals wide possibilities of micro-historical analysis.

Keywords

• peasant reform
• officials
• landowners
• orenburg province
• ufa province
• menzelinsk
• elabuga
• secret police
• ‘moskovskiye vedomosti’ newspaper