Censorship of Belarussian-Language Periodicals, 1906–1914

The first decade of the twentieth century was marked by the growth of nationalist movements in the Russian empire. The periodicals of that time exerted a significant influence on these movements, therefore they were carefully supervised by governmental agencies. Using the methods of political and intellectual history, this study examines censorship of Belarusian nationalist periodicals. I argue that the first Belarusian nationalist publications were vitally important for the Belarusian nationalist movement. The nationalist authors tried to advance their influence on the movement by stating clear aim and directions. This enhanced influence was the reason why the imperial censorship to hinder their activity. This research will serve as a basis for the future studies of the contradictions between the Russian imperial authorities and the nationalist movements. This work highlights the main tensions around Belarusian national movement in the first decade of the twentieth century. In this investigation, the aim was to assess the influence of state censorship on the first Belarusian nationalistic press and the formation of the Belarusian nation. Returning to the hypothesis posed at the beginning of this study, local protest movements, whose political projects were mentioned in the Belarusian nationalistic press, were considered by state not the chief enemies, but obstacles. The most important finding of the thesis is that the Belarusian national concept was designed on the background of the confrontation between state censorship and various oppositional movements in the Northwest provinces of the Russian Empire. The present study, however, makes several contributions to the researches of the policy towards the national margin. This research will serve as a base for future studies of the importance of national press in nation-building. Also, further research in this field would be of great help in the study of Belarusian nationalism and Russian censorship.