The activities of the first foreign publishers in Russia and the publication of the decree "On free printing houses" in 1783

The article is devoted to the activities of the first German private publishers in Russia at the second part of XVIII century. The interest in them is dictated by the fact that this experience formed the basis for the publication of the famous Catherine's decree "On free printing houses" in 1783. This decree for the first time allowed and legalized the conduct of a private book publishing business in Russia. No less important is the fact that after the publication of this decree it became possible to publish private periodicals. And this, in turn, gave an impetus to the development of domestic journalism.