Legislation of the Russian empire on censorship proceedings (1804-1890)

The study discussed the historical background to the legislation of the Russian Empire on censorship proceedings since the adoption of the first censorship statute in 1804. Further five statutes (the last one was adopted in 1890) regulated in detail the jurisdiction of censorship proceedings, a review period of manuscripts, the powers of censors and actors, the procedure at different stages, an appeal against the decisions of censorship commissions, the representation of authors, translators, publishers, and other persons involved in the creation of manuscripts. Jurisdiction meant the substantive competence of a censorship commission. Jurisdiction was exclusive and non-exclusive. All cases were classified by the following types of proceedings: internal, ecclesiastical, departmental, and foreign. The research identified and elaborated on the principles of censorship legislation that served as a basis for a review of manuscripts.