კავკასიის საცენზურო კომიტეტის მიზნები და ამოცანები (მხატვრულ ტექსტან ცენზურის მიმართების კრიტერიუმები)

ანოტაცია

The Caucasus Censorship Committee, from the day of its establishment (December 18, 1848) until its renaming (on October 24, 1905, the censorship committees of the Russian Empire were renamed as "Printing Affairs Committees") and beyond, served as one of the primary mechanisms for maintaining the empire. It was closely connected to various administrative and punitive bodies of Tsarism. The purpose of the Caucasus Censorship Committee was to control printed material, recognizing the immense influence the written word has on society and its readers. From the empire's perspective and philosophy, strict control over printed materials was deemed essential. The structure of the imperial mechanism can be visualized as follows: the Emperor (the sole ruler at the head of the empire), the Governor-General or Viceroy (the representative of the Russian Empire in a specific region, with authority over all institutions in the area), the Viceroy’s Chancellery, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Governor, the Vice-Governor, the Caucasus Censorship Committee, the police, the judiciary, customs offices, printing houses, libraries and reading rooms, bookstores, theaters, writers or publicists, and finally, the readers (or audience).

The primary directives for control originated from the Emperor. Secondary authority alternated between the Viceroy’s Chancellery and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For any printed material to be published (books, brochures, articles, journals, or other types of printed matter), approval had to be sought from the Governor. The Governor would then forward the request, along with additional materials (e.g., in the case of a journal, the editor’s personal information and program), to the Caucasus Censorship Committee. This committee operated based on the statutes on “Printing Affairs,” prepared by the Viceroy’s Chancellery on the Emperor's orders, supplemented by circulars. The censor would review the submitted material and provide their opinion (whether publication should be permitted or prohibited), sending their decision back to the Viceroy’s Chancellery, which would, in turn, respond to the Governor’s request. Additionally, alphabetical lists of prohibited and permitted literature were compiled and sent monthly, in several copies, to all censorship committees across the empire. These lists were periodically updated and republished with additional entries. The Caucasus Censorship Committee takes measures to ensure that prohibited publications or banned foreign literature do not inadvertently reach readers or appear for sale. To achieve this, it utilizes various means to make these restrictions public: the prohibitions are sent to local police and governors, who are obligated to monitor compliance. Additionally, bans are disseminated through the main printing office's journal, “Book Chronicle”, which publishes both an "Alphabetical List of Prohibited Books" and an "Alphabetical List of Works Reviewed (and Prohibited) by Foreign Censorship." The frequency of these publications underscores the vigilance of censorship to ensure that the imperial dictatorship's laws are upheld. Prohibitions are quickly communicated to bookstore owners, public libraries, reading rooms, distributors, and sales supervisors. The police periodically inspect these lower levels of distribution, conducting searches, confiscating banned literature, and destroying it. If prohibited materials are discovered in an institution, the establishment's owner is referred to the courts. This system forms an extensive mechanism of imperial dictatorship, overseen by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

The Caucasus Censorship Committee also maintains active engagement with customs authorities. Notably, Georgia serves as a transit country, and books entering Georgia's customs points via transit are inspected by the committee before being forwarded to their destinations in Russia and the Caucasus. Customs officials send all forms of printed materials (including drawings, maps, sheet music, and photographs) to the censorship committee, and parcels are not delivered to their owners until approval is granted. The review process can be quite lengthy.

The committee also maintains a journal where all printed or handwritten books and publications submitted for review are meticulously recorded. Each entry includes extracts noting when the review took place, in the presence of which censors, and the accompanying resolutions.

Permission for any periodical publication is granted by the Censorship Committee in accordance with censorship laws, but it also aligns with the empire's objectives, specifically promoting the "Russian element" and advancing regional education through the adoption of the Russian language. While the development of journals and newspapers in local languages is considered necessary for the progress of local populations, the empire does not favor the expansion of such publications. These periodicals are required to operate at their own expense, and their editors are expected to be relatively educated and "well-disposed" (Authors note: naturally, toward the empire). Additionally, censorship for local publications, particularly in the provinces, is stricter and more meticulous.

Beyond printed material, the Caucasus Censorship Committee also evaluates educational curricula, as these programs form the foundation for developing textbooks.

Religious materials are reviewed in collaboration with the highest religious authorities of the respective faiths, who provide conclusions on the appropriateness of the content. The Georgian Orthodox Church is an exception, as it is overseen by a Russian exarch who does not know the Georgian language. Consequently, Georgian- language religious materials are reviewed by a teacher specifically appointed for this purpose by the theological seminary. This underscores the unequal treatment of Georgians and other ethnic groups in religious matters, a topic frequently discussed in the Georgian press.

Later, the Censorship Committee established separate branches for specific areas, such as medical, military, and theatrical censorship. Military matters were subject to particularly strict scrutiny, with bans on publishing information about troop movements unless officially announced by the government. Medical, artistic, and musical fields also faced rigorous censorship.

Publications about the conditions of theological schools, the harsh economic circumstances and oppression in certain regions, unlawful court decisions, revolutionary activities, unrest at universities or other higher institutions, interethnic conflicts, sexual freedom, or suicide were prohibited. Additionally, information about members of the imperial family could not be published without renewed approval from the Minister of the Imperial Court. Insulting an official was punishable by hol- ding the newspaper editor personally accountable under Article 68 of the Censorship Committee's statute. From July 9, 1896, the publication of any information regarding the appointment or transfer of state officials was banned in local periodicals.

It is noteworthy that from 1848 until the 1960s and 70s, the materials related to literary works stored in the Caucasian Censorship Committee's archive are very limited, mainly consisting of the committee’s documents, including permits, prohibitions, and customs records for incoming materials. However, starting from the 1970s, alongside the activation of the press and theater, the archive began to hold records of materials that were submitted for review. The 1980s and 1990s stand out for a particular surge in activity.

Although theatrical censorship as a specific field was separated starting in 1879, it was based on the censorship law for dramatic works passed by the State Council on April 6, 1865, which stipulated that all dramatic works intended for performance in theaters must be sent to the Main Department of Printing Affairs for review. The performances of plays approved by censorship were required to be staged according to the censored copies, under the personal responsibility of the theater owner; it was the duty of the police to monitor their accurate execution (including gestures) and prevent any “cynical tricks” during the performance (a special box should be allocated for the police in the theater). The law on dramatic works did not allow any exceptions for clubs, as public gatherings in capitals or provinces attracted far larger audiences than theaters. Therefore, the staging of plays in such venues without dramatic censorship was not permitted. The dramatic censorship system also maintained lists of approved, banned, and temporarily banned plays, which were sent to theater owners and police departments to control the stage performances. In the case of violations, a legal case would be initiated in court.

We were particularly interested in the materials banned by censorship, which include some of the finest examples of both literary and journalistic works. The Caucasian Censorship Committee’s archive, organized by years and periodical publications, holds the banned works from the 1880s, which include both literary and journalistic pieces. Their analysis reveals the themes that particularly concerned the Tsarist regime. We also came across dramaturgical texts that were either banned by censorship or altered with red ink. Some of these works are by well-known authors and are still not included in the collected works of their writings today. These texts, in their restored form, are gradually being published by us in an anthology entitled “Banned Materials of the Caucasian Censorship Committee.”