Jubilee by telegraph: the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign (1887) in the mirror of the Russian press

In the article, the author presents a review of reports on the celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee (1887) in the leading newspapers and magazines of the Russian Empire, including The Government Gazette and Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti. Additionally, the following periodicals were consulted: “Moskovskie Vedomosti”, “Novoe Vremya”, “Novorossiyskiy Telegraph”, “Vestnik Evropy” and “Vsemirnaya Illyustratsiya”, among others. Given the plethora of literature on the period of Queen Victoria’s reign and the growing interest in jubilee practices amongst British scholars, this topic has yet to be considered from that particular perspective. The article is divided into several thematic sections, including an examination of the characteristics of Russian periodicals, a comprehensive account of the jubilee celebrations themselves, an analysis of the participation of members of the Russian imperial family in the festivities, a discussion of Britain’s role as a colonial power, and more. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, periodicals constituted the principal source of information, and thus were in high demand. On the one hand, the press facilitated the formation of public opinion, thereby serving as an effective conduit for disseminating significant domestic and foreign policy developments. On the other hand, as the number of newspapers proliferated, publishers were compelled to increasingly prioritise the interests of their readership. At that time, telegraph agencies played a pivotal role in the circulation of international news, to some extent standardising the dissemination of information. Concurrently, there were publications that could claim to have their own correspondents on the ground, thereby facilitating the acquisition of a range of exclusive information. The capital’s newspapers and magazines set the tone for the provincial press, which was often constrained to lengthy reprints. Consequently, the Russian public could access news from places as distant as Great Britain.