The essay in Russian 18th-century satirical magazines

18th-century satirical magazines laid the foundations of the essay as a genre in the modern sense of the word. They formed a paradigm of essay in its various forms. The paper presents a typology of essays in satirical magazines. There are considered such magazines as Vsyakaya vsyachina (All Sorts of Things) edited by Catherine II, I to i se (This and That) and Parnasskiy shchepetil ’nik (The Parnassian Vendor) by Mikhail Chulkov, Truten’ (The Drone), Pustomelya (The Tattler), Zhivopisets (The Painter) and Koshelek (The Purse) by Nikolai Novikov, Rasskazchik zabavnykh basen (The Teller of Amusing Stories) by Aleksandr Ablesimov etc. Essays are divided into three classes: in the first one, reflection and description form the structural basis of the text; the second is organized by narration; the third one combines the features of the first two. The classes are further subdivided into types according to the role of the editor as a fictitious persona being the primary subject of speech in the magazine. The first type of all classes is formed by essays that focus attention on the editor; articles where the editor plays a secondary role fall within the second type. In class I, type 1 is formed by essays characterizing the editor, while those in which other topics prevail fall under type 2. In class II, essays in which the editor takes part in the plot form type 1, while those where they do not fall into type 2. In class III, type 1 is characterized by the editor’s hegemony throughout the whole text, while in type 2 the editor’s position may change from part to part of the essay. The classification also takes into account such devices as dialogue and frame. Essays involving fantasy elements are specially marked. The editor’s persona makes essays in satirical magazines unique among all versions of the genre. It unites all the articles in a single magazine. This gives the magazine integrity, making it a continuum. Thus, essays become part of a complex literary unity.