The Censorship Legislation of Russia in the Second Half of the XIX Century

There is a particularly important role of the freedom of speech and press among the numerous legal possibilities for an individual citizen and society. Despite the fact that in the modern world legal norms about the freedom of press and speech are enacted, many governments continue to impede the implementation of this principle and use strict sanctions against the press. Many researchers emphasize that referring to the historical roots of domestic legislation of press is crucial due to the time requirements. The final paper represents an analysis of the legal status of the press in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century. During the research it was necessary to characterize the directions of the government’s policy in the field of legislation on the press, to show the implementation in practice of the censorship legislation and to reveal the contents and methods of influence and the government control in the sphere of mass-media.