The first issue of the newspaper “Olonets Provincial Statements” was released in Petrozavodsk

On January 8 (20), 1838, the first newspaper of Karelia was published in the city of Petrozavodsk – “Olonets Provincial Statements”. The newspaper covered events from the most diverse areas of Olonets province.

"Olonets provincial lists" consisted of official and unofficial sections. The official part was divided into a department, including information on the state of affairs in the province, and a department that housed information about important events in the life of the country as a whole. Various laws, decrees, orders of the authorities were published here. Until the 1850's official information prevailed in the newspaper.

The unofficial section included articles devoted to history, statistics, ethnography, literature, folklore of the region, advertising and private announcements. The unofficial part of the newspaper first appeared in №22 of June 4 (16), 1838. It was opened by the article of the first editor of this part of Svyatoslav Afanasievich Raevsky "On the subjects and purpose of studying the Addition to the Olonets Provincial Statements". In his article the author says: "The study and description of each country is the indispensable duty of its educated natives, and how nobly to participate in this feat! How flattering it is to pass on to your offspring our observations, perhaps the best moments of life!" 

A friend of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov, a writer Svyatoslav Afanasievich Raevsky, who was in exile in the city of Petrozavodsk from 1837 to 1839, served as an official for special assignments under the governor. He became one of the organizers of the unofficial issue ("addition") of "Statements" and gave rise to the development of the newspaper in the local history direction. He published on the pages of the publication a legend about Peter the Great and the silver cup, an article "On common folk literature. On the collection of Russian folk songs, poems, proverbs, etc.".

The editors of this department in different years were: S. A. Raevsky (1838-1839), the teacher of the Olonets theological seminary S. A. Levitsky, the teacher of the Latin language of the Petrozavodsk male gymnasium A. A. Lastochkin (1853-1860), the teacher of the Petrozavodsk spiritual school Lev Malinovsky, senior teacher at the Milevsky gymnasium, senior teacher Ostroumov, A. I. Ivanov (1845-1852, 1860-1864), A. M. Rudnitsky (1864-1892). Among the authors of the newspaper were many teachers of the province. Thus, around the newspaper was formed a group of local lore, who were able to publish materials on the edge.

Initially, until 1868, the Olonets provincial lists were published once a week (later - twice, since 1900 - three times a week) in a small format. The edition circulation did not exceed 500 copies.

The newspaper has been published until until February 1917.

The uniqueness of publications, which appeared on the pages of the newspaper, is that in the future they were practically not reprinted. Today publications are involved in scientific circulation, as sources of valuable and versatile local history material.

Lit.: 1838 г. : [хроника] // Памятная книжка Олонецкой губернии на 1902 год. Петрозаводск, 1902. С. 214; Верхоглядов В. Н. Петрозаводская старина / Валерий Верхоглядов. Петрозаводск, 1998. Из содерж.: По страницам «Олонецких губернских ведомостей». С. 27-40; Гудожников М. Дореформенная периодическая печать в Карелии // Известия Общества изучения Карелии. 1924. № 2. С. 37-41; Гудошников М. А. Петрозаводск : культурно-ист. очерк. [Петрозаводск], 1926. Из содерж.: [Газета «Олонецкие губернские ведомости»]. С. 23-33; Зайцева И. М. «Олонецкие губернские ведомости» и их роль в становлении фольклористики Карелии (1838 - 1870 гг.) // Филологические и исторические исследования в высшей школе : сб. науч. ст. историко-филолог. факультета. Петрозаводск, 2007. Вып. 2. С. 138-143; Зайцева И. М. Роль газеты «Олонецкие губернские ведомости» в изучении причитаний // Краеведческие чтения : материалы II науч. конф. (16 мая 2008 г.). Петрозаводск, 2009. С. 148-150; Нилов В. М. Орган местной гласности : роль периодич. печати Олонец. губернии в развитии обществ. сознания. Ч. 1. Петрозаводск, 2017; Нилов В. М. Орган местной гласности : роль периодич. Печати Олонец. Губернии в развитии обществ. сознания. Ч. 2. Петрозаводск, 2017.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Олонецкие губернские ведомости. Петрозаводск, 1838-1917.

The materials are provided by the National Library of Recpublic of Karelia