The Rise of the “Paper Period of Russian Literature”: the Kopeck Press as the Accumulator of Mass Society’s Tendencies in 1908–1917

Abstract

The review follows the study of F. Cowan “The Kopeck Press: Popular Journalism in Revolutionary Russia, 1908–1918”, published in 2025 by the University of Toronto Press. This book represents a research of one of the most widespread formats in the history of pre-revolutionary journalism, namely, cheap newspapers, which illustrate the rapid expansion and transformation of the readership during the pre-revolution decade. In early Soviet historiography, a negative view on penny newspapers prevailed, since they were considered to be a mere entertainment medium. This opinion has continued to influence subsequent works on the subject, but Cowan challenges this approach by analyzing the features of the newspapers from a completely different perspective. The researcher emphasizes the socio-political aspect and introduces kopeck papers as a platform that has expanded the public sphere in Russia and given the masses an opportunity to feel more involved in political processes and debates. The breadth of coverage of various papers is particularly notable in the work. Although the specific geographic features of different kopeck papers are not disclosed in the book, this leaves room for further exploration.