New pages of Russian pre-revolutionary journalism. Book review: Zhilyakova N.V. “To denounce, prick and sting...”. Satirical journalism of Tomsk of the late 19th - early 20th century. Tomsk, Tomsk State University Publ., 2020. 388 p

The article reviews the book “ ‘To Denounce, Prick and Sting.’. Satirical journalism of Tomsk of the late 19th - early 20th century”. Its author is Natalia Veniaminovna Zhilyakova, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the National Research Tomsk State University (TSU). The title of the book is not accidental: it is with such words (“to denounce, prick and sting”) that one can characterize the purpose of satire, the main purpose of which is constructive social criticism. The monograph contains a wealth of factual material and is extremely important for studying the history of printing in Russian regions. Despite the fact that the pre-revolutionary journalism of Russia is quite well researched, there are many “white spots” in its study, especially with regard to the regional press. And the monograph of N.V. Zhilyakova partially fills this annoying gap, makes a significant contribution to its study. Therefore, the importance of this scientific work cannot be overestimated. The book shows the development of satirical journalism of the Tomsk province in the context of pre-revolutionary journalism in Russia: the press of Tomsk, interesting in itself, reflected the general processes and trends in the development of the press of the Russian Empire. Of undoubted interest is the “Application”, which contains unique texts of works published at different times in Tomsk publications of the period under study. These publications themselves have become a bibliographic rarity, so the texts - they are published for the first time! -they cannot fail to interest the reader. The book is written in simple, clear, and striking language. It is intended not only for narrow specialists, but also for the widest audience: for students and teachers of humanities faculties, as well as for everyone interested in the history of Russian journalism at the turn of the century.