Russian Readers and Their Environment

The article by Nikolai A. Rubakin (1862–1946) was first published in the journal Bulletin of Knowledge in 1905. This is a reworking of a lecture given him in Penza. The author argues the relevance of the chosen topic and its practical interest. He believes that the history of reading is the history of public thought, criticism, creativity, attitudes to various cultural demands and innovations of the early 20th century. According to N. A. Rubakin the reader is one of the main figures of society. The author gives quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Russian reader based on correspondence with readers, information from periodicals, statistics and other sources.