Formation and operation of the first private newspaper "Yekaterinburg week" in Perm province in the last quarter of the 19th century

The process of the formation of private media in the Perm province is analyzed using the example of the weekly political and literary newspaper Yekaterinburg Week (in 2019, it is 140 years since its establishment). The opening and operation of the media are considered, the main headings are characterized, the editorial staff's relations with the representatives of the official authorities (the governor, the Main Directorate of Press Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police department) are traced, and the public's ambiguous reaction to the published information is revealed. The authors state that the appearance of the first private newspaper had a significant impact on the public, not only in Yekaterinburg, but also in the province as a whole. The newspaper developed and improved feedback mechanisms with the population and authorities. This process took place under conditions of continuous control over the content of material published by the newspaper by censorship bodies, which often led to conflict situations with the editorial staff, personnel changes and the change of the owners of the media. The control by the representatives of the authorities also made it difficult to form an independent editorial position. A serious problem was the unprofitability of the newspaper. At the same time, well-known Ural writers and journalists were involved as correspondents, often offering their own vision of actual problems to readers. There was a criticism of local officials. A significant increase in circulation testified to the growing popularity of the media. Addressing the residents of the province as a whole, the newspaper was universal. Its activities stabilized the socio-political situation in the vast multi-ethnic Ural region. Yekaterinburg Week attracted readers to public life, educated them, contributed to shaping the sociocultural environment and civil beginnings in the Russian province in the last quarter of the 19th century.