Anniversary of the first print of the Na Rubezhe magazine (since 1965 - Sever)

On October 1, 1940, the first (July) issue of the Na Rubezhe (At the Border) magazine was printed. Na Rubezhe was the literary-artistic and socio-political magazine. Now, it is famous as Sever (North) - the monthly literary-artistic and socio-political publication.

In June 1940, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Karelo-Finnish SSR approved the decree on the publication of the republican magazine Na Rubezhe. The first (July) issue of the magazine was printed in October 1940, with a circulation of 3 thousand copies. It marked the main event of that time - the renaming of Karelia into the Karelo-Finnish SSR (the 12th republic of the USSR). The first chief editor of the publication was S. V. Kolosyonok, a writer, journalist and cultural figure.

The period before the Great Patriotic War was marked by the publication of 9 issues, followed by the 5-year pause. In 1946, the magazine was resumed. During the first post-war times, writers were fond of the topics of the past war and adaptation of former front-line soldiers to a peaceful life. It was the period of the establishment of Karelian literature. The magazine published works of famous Karelian writers, for example, the stories by the national Karelian writer A. Timonen From Karelia to the Carpathians and By Native Ways, the novels Watershed by N. Yakkola and The White Sea by A. Linevsky, poems by B. Schmidt, A Titov, verses by M. Sysoikov, A. Ivanov, G. Kikinov, I. Simanenkov and others.

In January 1965, the republican magazine Na Rubezhe got an interregional status. It changed the name to Sever and became a press organ of the Union of Writers of the RSFSR, Karelian ASSR, Komi ASSR, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov Regions. Such adjustment enriched the magazine's thematic content, expanded the circle of authors, and made it more eminent for readers of all northern territories. The magazine issued the most exciting works of Russian writers about the North and introduced readers to the literary life of Finland.

The publication involved famous Soviet writers: M. Prishvin, V. Belov, V. Astafiev, D. Granin, V. Rasputin, A. Solzhenitsyn, N. Rubtsov, V. Shukshin, D. Balashov and others. The readers were introduced to the oeuvre of such Finnish authors as M. Lassila, M. Larni, A. Kivi.

Since 1969, the Sever has been publishing monthly. Since 1991, the magazine's founders are the Russian Union of Writers and the Government of the Republic of Karelia.

Over the long history, the publication was headed by prominent journalists, writers and cultural workers of Karelia: A. Titov (1950–1954), O. Tikhonov (1990–2001), S. Pankratov (2001–2005), J. Zhemoytelite (2005–2007). Within 35 years, from 1954 to 1989, D. Ya. Gusarov, the People's Writer of Karelia, an honorary citizen of Petrozavodsk, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, was the chief editor of the magazine.

Since 2007, the literary, art and socio-political magazine Sever has been directed by a chief editor E. E. Pietilaynen - a writer, chairman of the Karelian regional branch of the Russian Union of Writers, Distinguished Teacher of the Republic of Karelia.

The publication is a repeated laureate of the All-Russian Contest "Golden Fund of the Press". In 2012, the magazine was awarded the Alexander Nevsky Medal for contribution to the development of Russian literature and won the All-Russian Contest "Golden Lotus - 2011" for preserving the spirit of Russia.

In 2009, the magazine established an annual Literary Contest for Young Authors "North Star", in 2012 - an annual literary prize for the magazine's authors for the publications of high cultural, ethical and literary value.