Limiting the View. Censorship of Fine Arts in the Russian Empire, 1865-1905

Abstract

The paper deals with the history of art censorship in the Russian Empire, which started with the reform of 1865 and lasted until the Revolution of 1905 when the restrictive measure was officially abolished. The paper summarizes the legislative measures that were taken by the government to control the distribution and display of the works of fine art. The authors point out that the censorship disapproved images that represented the Russian monarchy in an unfavourable way, that glorified nationalist and revolutionary movements as well as those considered as threatening to the Orthodox Church or public morality. The authors come to the conclusion that the government attempted to implement a system of screening all the paintings, lithographs, and photographs before they were published or displayed. However, it achieved only limited success.

Keywords

• russian empire
• censorship
• fine arts
• chief administration of press affairs
• circular letter
• exhibitions
• peredvizhniki.