Novaia Zhizn

Novaia Zhizn’ 

(New Life), the first legal Bolshevik newspaper. From Oct. 27 (Nov. 9) through Dec. 3 (16), 1905, 28 issues were published in St. Petersburg.

The official editor and publisher was the poet N. M. Minskii, but the actual publisher was the Bolshevik actress M. F. An-dreeva. From November 1905 (no. 9), the newspaper was printed under the direct supervision of V. I. Lenin. Among those on the editorial staff of Novaia Zhizn’ were Lenin, V. A. Bazarov, A. A. Bogdanov, V. V. Vorovskii, A. V. Lunacharskii, M. S. Ol’min-skii, and P. P. Rumiantsev. M. Gorky took an active part in the work of the newspaper and gave it financial assistance. The newspaper printed 14 articles by Lenin. Novaia Zhizn’ was in effect the central organ of the RSDLP. Its circulation went as high as 80,000. The newspaper was subjected to police repression: 15 of 27 issues were confiscated. After the newspaper was closed down on Dec. 2 (15), 1905, the date of the 27th issue, a 28th issue was published illegally.

REFERENCES

Lenin, V. I. Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed. (See index volume, part 2, p. 510.) Karelina, M. Bol’shevistskaia gazeta “Novaia zhizn’” (1905). Moscow, 1955.
“Novaia zhizn’”: Pervaia legal’naia sotsial-demokraticheskaia bol’shevistskaia gazeta, 27 oktiabria-3 dekabria 1905 g, issues 1–4. Leningrad, 1925–26.
Grinberg, A. M. “K istorii pervoi legal’noi bol’shevistskoi gazety Novaia zhizn’ (1905).” In Voprosy zhurnalistiki: Sb. statei. Moscow, 1959.

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Novaia Zhizn’ 

(New Life), a daily newspaper published in Petrograd by a group of Menshevik Internationalists and by writers associated with the journal Letopis’ (The Chronicle).

Novaia Zhizn’ was published from Apr. 18 (May 1), 1917, through July 1918. From June 1, 1918, it was published simultaneously in Moscow and Petrograd. The publisher was A. Sere-brov (A. N. Tikhonov), and the editors were M. Gorky, Serebrov, V. Stroev (V. A. Desnitskii), and N. Sukhanov (N. N. Gimmer). Among those who contributed to the journal were B. V. Avilov, V. A. Bazarov, A. A. Bogdanov, B. Gorev, and V. Kerzhentsev (P. M. Lebedev). The newspaper was shut down by the bourgeois Provisional Government and in its place the newspaper Svobodnaia Zhizn’ (Free Life; Avilov, editor-publisher) was published from Sept. 2 (15) through 8 (21), 1917.

Before the October Revolution of 1917, the newspaper’s political positions were inconsistent. The paper condemned the Provisional Government one day and the Bolsheviks the next. On Oct. 18 (31), 1917, the newspaper printed L. B. Kamenev’s article stating that he and G. E. Zinov’ev were opposed to an armed uprising, thus betraying a secret decision of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(B) to launch such an uprising. The newspaper was hostile to the establishment of Soviet power. From 1917 to 1918, Novaia Zhizn’ published Gorky’s series of topical essays entitled Untimely Thoughts. These essays reflected the author’s erroneous position with respect to the October Revolution of 1917–a position soon condemned by Gorky himself.

REFERENCES

Lenin, V. I. Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed. (See index volume, part 2, p. 510.) V. I. Lenin i A. M. Gor’kii: Pis’ma, vospominaniia, dokumenty, 3rd ed. Moscow, 1969.
Okorokov, A. Z. Oktiabr’ i krakh russkoi burzhuaznoi pressy. Moscow, 1970.