Peter 1 introduced a civil font. Transformations of the Russian language under Peter I

Peter’s reforms were always perceived ambiguously: some of his contemporaries saw him as an innovator who “cut a window to Europe,” while others reproached him for hating everything domestic. Modern historians are sometimes no less polar in their assessments of the activities of the first Russian emperor.

The attitude towards Peter the Great was and remains ambiguous

During the reign of Peter, there were, among other things, rumors that his real one had been replaced by a foreign impostor: so strong was the sovereign’s thirst for reforms and changes to the centuries-old way of Russian life after his return from the Great Embassy.

Church reform turned out to be especially interesting and closely related to language reform. Peter tried with all his might to get away from the unlimited influence of the church, its interference in the government of the country, therefore, after the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, he actually abolished the institution of the patriarchate: it was replaced by the Holy Synod controlled by the sovereign.

Church reform was closely connected with language reform

Church incomes and possessions were brought under state control thanks to the reform of 1701, after Peter restored the Monastic Order. Church authority weakened under the pressure of secular power, and language reform contributed to an even greater opposition between the “spiritual” and the “civil.”

ABC of Cyril and Methodius

As you remember, the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius was a church “Grecophile” initiative, while Peter’s reform of the alphabet implied a “Latinophile” orientation, a division of the alphabet into civil and ecclesiastical. The new civil script was supposed to embody the traditions of the new “secularized consciousness,” while the Church Slavonic language remained the personification of the old culture.

New alphabet

The landmark of the new Russia was to be Imperial Rome

The reference point for the new Russia was supposed to be Rome, but not Christian Rome, under church influence, but imperial Rome with strong state power. It was precisely the new perception of power that was, among other things, one of Peter’s main ideas during the reform. During his reign, the volume of printed products increased sharply, and new printing houses began to open. With the advent of the new alphabet, the Gazette of the Moscow State began to publish lists of books printed in the new image and already on sale, which diluted the abundance of spiritual literature at the beginning of the 18th century.

The official decree introducing a new civil script was promulgated on January 29 (February 9), 1710. On the first alphabet it is written by Peter’s hand: “With these letters to print historical and manufacturing books. And those that are underlined (crossed out), do not use those (in) the above books.”

The new font was developed by Russian and Dutch masters

The history of the creation of the new font was no less interesting than the language reform itself: in January 1707, based on sketches allegedly made personally by Peter, Kuhlenbach, a fortification engineer, draftsman and draftsman, made drawings of 33 lowercase and 4 capital letters (A, D, E, T) , which were then sent to Amsterdam for the production of letters. At the same time, by state decree, Grigory Alexandrov and Vasily Petrov worked on their version of the font under the guidance of wordsmith Mikhail Efremov at the Moscow printing yard. Ultimately, the sovereign chose the Dutch version, which underwent the last correction on January 18, 1710: some letters were changed, some of the previously excluded ones were returned (they say the clergy insisted). As a result, only three letters were excluded: b6, e6 and y.

As a result of the reform of 1710, the letters became more rounded

The shape of the letters also changed: they became more rounded and it became much easier to write them. A unified procedure for the use of capital letters and punctuation marks was introduced, the “title” and superscripts, which were placed above the line to indicate different types of stress and aspiration and were completely inconvenient for typographical typesetting, disappeared. Arabic numerals replaced alphabetic numbers: already in 1703, the first book in Russian with Arabic numerals was published.

During the reign of Peter, alphabetic numbers were replaced by Arabic numerals

Thanks to the transition to a new civil font, it has become easier to read, which means it has become easier to train and prepare educated specialists, and to convey government information to the still illiterate population more quickly and in a timely manner. The secular character also invaded education, and the exact sciences began to compete with theological disciplines... But that’s a completely different story.

At the beginning of the 18th century. In the life of Russia, radical changes took place, caused by the development of productive forces and prepared by the entire previous course of historical development. The foundations of industry are being created, domestic and foreign trade is developing, a regular national army and navy are being organized, and Russia’s economic and cultural ties with the countries of the West and East are being strengthened. The international authority of the Russian Empire is growing.

Rapid economic and political development was accompanied by rapid growth of national culture, science, and education. Breaking with the religious traditions of the past, the new Russian culture acquired a pronounced secular character. State schools of various types were opened (both general and special, according to exact knowledge), accessible to people of different social status. Scientific, cultural and educational institutions were created to promote the development of Russian science and culture, the restructuring of the life of Russian people (Library-Kunstkamera, Academy of Sciences, etc.).

The development of exact sciences was encouraged. Russian social thought and journalism, literature and art developed fruitfully. The introduction of the January calendar and Arabic numerals was of great cultural significance.

Publishing in the first quarter of the 18th century. gained wide scope. Until now it has served primarily the needs of the church. Peter I put book printing at the service of the interests of state transformation and the development of a new culture. Peter I personally supervised the printing and publishing business, determined the topics of publications, supervised the translation of books and was the editor of many of them. His name is associated with the creation of a Russian printing house in Amsterdam, the founding of the St. Petersburg printing house, the introduction of civil type, the creation of the first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti and much more.

In the development of Russian culture and publishing, the reform of the Russian alphabet, and on its basis, the reform of the press, played a major role.

The press reform was carried out in 1707-1710. The essence of the reform is the replacement of the old Cyrillic alphabet with its complex graphics and system of superscripts, which is difficult to type in typography, with a new civil alphabet, which was based on the handwriting of the late 17th - early 18th centuries, which differed from the usual semi-character only in the roundness of a number of letters - b, c, e, o, r, etc. Letters of this design, close in character to European fonts, were found in some engraved publications of the early 18th century, for example, on the map of the Dvina River (1702).

Such experienced people as the famous figure in the field of book printing I.A. were involved in the creation of the new alphabet. Musin-Pushkin, head of the first Moscow civilian printing house V.A. Kipriyanov, word writer Mikhail Efremov. The drawings of the new font were made by draftsman and draftsman Kuhlenbach. Peter I himself gave instructions on the destruction of superscripts and some letters (“ot”, “psi”, “xi”, etc.), borrowed at one time from Greek writing and which became unnecessary with the development of the Russian language, on changing and improving graphics individual letters.

The new alphabet was easy to learn and easy to type. It democratized reading and contributed to the spread of literacy and education. Subsequently M.V. Lomonosov wrote about her:

“Under Peter the Great, not only the boyars and noblewomen, but also the letters, threw off their wide fur coats and dressed up in summer clothes.”

The final version of the civil alphabet was adopted in 1710. Peter I personally inscribed on a copy of the civil alphabet: “Historical and manufacturing books should be printed in these letters. And those that are underlined should not be used [in] the books described above.”

Since 1708, the Kirillov font has been used mainly for printing church books; For some time they continued to print textbooks, religious books, and the most important publications intended for wide distribution throughout Russia, since civil script penetrated slowly into the provinces. The Cyrillic alphabet was more familiar than the civilian font, this explained the “survivability” of books of the old Cyrillic printing.

The civil font played an important role in the creation of a new type of book. The idea of ​​its development belonged to Peter I. Based on his sketch, under his personal supervision, the military engineer Kulenbach made drawings that were approved by the Tsar and sent to Holland for casting. The new font was created based on the existing business cursive. In its style, it resembled the best Latin Elsevier fonts. The typeface, made in Holland and improved by Russian craftsmen, was finally approved in 1710. The decree on its introduction read: “Print historical and manufactory (technical - T.K.) books in these letters.” The Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet was left for liturgical books, although sometimes it continued to be used for the purpose of widespread publication of legislative and political documents, decrees, and statements.

The first book printed in civilian type, “Geometry of Slavic Land Measurement” (March 1708), is a translation of a textbook on geometry widespread in the West (circulation of 200 copies). Following it, the book “Butts, how different compliments are written” was published (April 1708). It was a manual outlining the rules of behavior in society.

Books promoting the dissemination of secular knowledge were printed in a new font. Books and other printed materials that required wide circulation, such as numerous decrees and regulations, often continued to be printed in the old characters. Books on church topics are most fully represented by the traditional gospels, menaions, prologues, books of six days, psalters, and books of hours. The same craftsmen worked on their production as on secular publications. Therefore, the interpenetration of design elements of these two groups of books is often observed, especially in the first years of activity of secular printing houses.

The natural course of development of book publishing at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries was disrupted by radical measures aimed at restructuring society and forming a new secular worldview. During this critical period, book publishing begins to develop in two directions - civil and church. To spread new ideas, a printing press was used, producing hundreds of book titles that were previously known to a very limited circle of people. In the first quarter of the 18th century alone, 650 titles of books on secular subjects were published with a circulation of half a million copies. At the same time, about eleven titles were published in the church press per year, which accounted for only 14 percent of the total volume of book publishing.

The first experience in publishing books of a new type, according to the decision of Peter I, was undertaken in the foreign printing house of J. Tessing (?-1701). In 1698, a printing house was opened in Amsterdam, in which, according to Peter’s decree, it was ordered to publish “land and sea paintings and drawings, and all kinds of printed sheets and persons..., mathematical, architectural and other art books.” The activities of the printing house were headed by I. Kopievsky (1615-1714). Under his leadership, several books were published, printed by order of the Russian Tsar. These are “A Brief Introduction to All History” (1699), “A Brief and Useful Guide to Arithmetic” (1699), “A Brief Collection of Leo the Peacemaker” (1700), etc. These books did not meet the assigned tasks, and the printing house collapsed. I. Kopievsky independently continued to publish books for Russia. He published over twenty book titles, the most notable of which are “The Book for Teaching Sea Navigation” (1701), “Symbols and Emblems” (1705), “Guide to Slavic-Russian Grammar” (1706), the first translations of ancient writers. Books were printed in Cyrillic, sometimes in combination with Latin script.

Solving the task set by Peter I so that “Russian subjects could receive a lot of service and profit and learn in all kinds of arts and knowledge,” foreign publishers sought to maintain the Russian traditions of creating books. So, in particular, they use the technique of Russian masters, when the type at the end of the book takes the shape of a triangle, using engraved initials. At the same time, in the design of title pages, the dominance of the European style is observed, namely, strict text without any frills or decorations. In the book "Symbols and Emblems", published by the printing house of Heinrich Weststein in 1705, a list of typos appears for the first time.

Despite the efforts of Dutch printers, books published in Amsterdam did not find a lively demand in Russia and sold slowly for several years. Even the luxurious edition of the Emblemata, richly illustrated with emblems and allegorical pictures, was sold throughout the first quarter of the 18th century.

To make engravings, an Engraving Workshop was opened at the Armory in 1698. Its activities were led by the Dutch master Adrian Schonebeek (1661-1705). He founded an engraving school, among his first students were Alexey Zubov and Pyotr Bunin. Foreign masters also worked here - Bliklant and Devit.

Initially, the workshop engraved and printed coats of arms, stamps on paper, and cartouches for compasses. Soon large sheet engravings began to be created depicting newly built ships of the Russian fleet, views of military battles, and panoramas of cities.

In 1699-1700 Schonebeck performed the first print, “The Siege of Azov in 1696,” representing a wide panorama of the besieged city. He also engraved star maps, technical drawings, and artillery manuals. After the death of A. Schonebeck in 1705, the workshop was headed by Peter Picart (1668/69-1737). Engravers were constantly in search of new subjects. To do this, they went to the active army, followed surveyors, and were present during the construction of fortresses and defensive structures. As a result of their efforts, many conclusions (battles), persons (portraits), triumphal processions and fireworks appeared. The foundations of Russian printmaking were laid in the Engraving Workshop.

In 1705, on the initiative of V.A. Kiprianov, the Civil Printing House was created - the first specialized enterprise in Russia for the production of secular books and engravings. It operated according to the publishing program proposed by the founder. The printing house planned to produce “large and small arithmetics, grammars in different dialects, doctoral and medical ABC books, mathematical teaching, and musical singing.”

The first publication of the printing house was the engraved sheet “A New Method of Arithmetic,” which is a brief and popular summary of the textbook “Arithmetic.” The main products of this printing house are engravings. During the short period of its existence (1705-1722), more than two dozen of them were produced.

V.A. Kiprianov took an active part in the preparation of his publications, often acting as an author, engraver, and editor. He taught the art of engraving to many masters. The most talented students turned out to be A. Rostovtsev and A. Zubov. With their participation, many geographical maps were published. World atlases were published twice - in 1707 and 1717. In 1713, the first educational atlas “The Whole Earth Circle Table” was engraved. It included five sheets. The most popular was the six-sheet “Bruce calendar” (1709-1715).

In addition to engravings, two books were printed at the Civil Printing House: “Tables of Sines” (1716) and “Tables of Horizontal” (1722). They were intended for navigators, as well as for navigators and students of navigation schools.

The civil printing house was one of the first to establish secular book publishing, and the experience of its activities was taken into account when creating new centers of Peter the Great's book printing.

First of all, the oldest Russian printing house, the Moscow Printing House, underwent reorganization. Reconstruction began in 1708 with the production of civil printing presses and the introduction of a new font, called “civil”. In 1710, the Engraving Workshop was moved here. A type-casting workshop was set up in the printing house, which from now on supplied other printing houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg with new fonts.

Gradually, the number of printing mills increased, and so did the staff. In 1722, it consisted of 175 people: inquiry officers, book readers, engravers, Fryazhsky printers (printers of engravings), banner makers, engravers, blacksmiths, clerical workers, etc. Sometimes hired workers, most often bookbinders, were hired to carry out urgent work. Overall, it was a complex enterprise with a clear division of labor. The Moscow Printing Yard already performed the functions of not only a printing house, but also a publishing house. The first director was appointed the outstanding educator, author and translator F.P. Polikarpov (1670-1731).

Under his leadership, the publication of books on secular subjects was established, primarily civil calendars, which enjoyed nationwide recognition. The general management of book publishing was carried out by the country's spiritual department - the Synod, established in 1721 instead of the Monastic Order.

In 1711, another universal printing house was opened - St. Petersburg. To equip it, by decree of Peter I of October 29, 1710, a printing press, fonts and masters were transferred from the Printing House. At the beginning of 1711, the printing house was already operating in the new capital. It employed 4 typesetters, 2 teredor workers and 2 warrior workers. Subsequently, the staff of the printing house steadily increased, and over the years it turned into the largest printing house in the country. In 1722 there were already 5 printing mills here, which were serviced by over 80 people. In 1714, an Engraving Workshop was opened, equipped with a “figure mill” for the production of illustrations for books, as well as engravings.

In May 1711, the first edition of the St. Petersburg printing house, the Vedomosti newspaper, was published, and a year later the first dated book, “A Brief Image of Processes and Litigations,” was published. Subsequently, the printing house produced educational and general education books, military and naval literature, technical manuals and calendars. The number of books published in this printing house grew from year to year. Thus, in the first twelve years of its existence, the volume of book publishing increased fourfold.

The most significant was the publication of the “Book of Mars,” which was replenished over a number of years (1713-1716) with engravings reflecting the events of the Northern War. The plan for the book was not finally realized, and it remained unfinished.

Moscow and St. Petersburg printing houses exchanged books, reprinted them from each other, for which they borrowed fonts and engraving boards. At the same time, each of these printing houses introduced originality into their books, typesetting techniques, and design and design elements. New book publishing centers have opened in St. Petersburg under various departments. Their activities were specialized in nature, and printed products were intended for the needs of government agencies and educational institutions.

In 1718, the Senate printing house was opened. It published mainly legislative materials - decrees, manifestos, reports. The first editions of this printing house that have reached us date back to 1721, although work there began much earlier. Its activities were headed by former typesetter of the Printing House Ivan Nikitin. Under his leadership, the printing house's staff grew steadily and its equipment improved.

Initially, the printing house had only one civil printing mill, then two more printing mills were acquired, which remained after the death of V.A. Kiprianova at the Printing Yard. His son V.V. Cyprian did not publish books, and, according to him, his camps were “thrown apart.” Therefore, he sold them, along with the equipment, to the Senate Printing House.

In 1719, on the initiative of F. Prokopovich (1681-1736), a prominent church figure, a printing house of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was opened. She published books printed in Cyrillic. Its most famous publication is the primer by F. Prokopovich “The First Teaching to the Youths,” which went through twelve editions in five years from 1720 to 1724. Translations of books were published, for example, the historical works “Pheatron, or the Historical Shame” (1720).

At the beginning of 1721, the printing house of the Maritime Academy was established. Initially, the needs of students were met by Moscow and St. Petersburg printing houses. Thus, practical manuals for navigators “Tables of Sun Declination” and “Tables of Width Differences” were ordered in Moscow from the Civil Printing House, but by April 1721 they were printed in the Maritime Academy’s own printing house. The main share of its output was literature on maritime subjects. Most often these were translated works by English and Dutch authors.

During the period of Peter the Great's reforms, a centralized book publishing system developed in Russia, the leading place in which was occupied by the Printing House.

For the first time, specialized book publishing centers arose that served the needs of various departments.

Strict regulation and control over the activities of printing houses made it possible, in the shortest possible time, to organize the production of books that met the state objectives and contributed to the formation of a new ideology.

In 1703, the Vedomosti newspaper was created - the first organ of the Russian press, conceived as a mass media. It replaced the handwritten Chimes and became more accessible to a wide range of consumers. In 1703 alone, 39 issues were published. The newspaper contained material from foreign sources and reports from diplomats. Initially, information of a military nature dominated, with military actions against the Swedes being covered in particular detail. Gradually, the pages of the newspaper were filled with messages about the construction of ships, canals, lunar and solar eclipses, and the opening of new factories and manufactories. Beginning in 1719, Vedomosti increasingly reflected events in the country’s internal life. The material was drawn from reports from the field: from the provinces, from various government agencies. Peter I constantly made sure that the newspaper reflected everything “that is needed to communicate to the people.”

In the second decade of the 18th century. Printing houses appear in the new Russian capital - St. Petersburg. The first of them, the St. Petersburg Printing House, was founded in 1710. It produced the bulk of civil books, becoming in a short time the leading printing house in the country. The first dated book published by this printing house in July 1712, “A Brief Description of Processes, or Litigations,” sets out the rules for the trial and investigation.

In 1720, a second printing house opened in St. Petersburg at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. It published in Cyrillic font the “Sermons” and “Words” of F. Prokopovich and other associates of Peter I, some textbooks, including the popular primer of F. Prokopovich - “The First Teaching of a Youth.”

In 1721, a printing house was established under the Senate, where legislative documents were printed in large quantities - decrees, regulations, charters, as well as manifestos and other literature.

For the needs of students and the printing of orders of the Admiralty College, a printing house was created at the Moscow Academy.

On the pace of development of book printing in the first quarter of the 18th century. The numbers speak: if in 1701 8 book titles were published, then in 1724 - 149. Over 24 years, publishing output increased almost 19 times. Publishing activity reached its highest level in 1720-1722, i.e. at the end of the Northern War.

Subjects and types of publications of the first quarter of the 18th century.

Russian books of the first quarter of the 18th century. were connected with the practical tasks and needs of the state, contributed to the implementation of reforms, and helped to assimilate everything new that was introduced into the life of Russia. Their topics are very diverse and new. Most of all publications were of a political nature, necessary for the government to influence the masses. The propaganda role was played by decrees, regulations and manifestos that reflected the development of Russian legislation. Political publications also include reports on military operations and victories in the Northern War. They were printed on one side of a sheet and posted in crowded places for wide familiarization with them.

In connection with the wide network of general education and special schools that opened in the first quarter of the 18th century, there was a very great need for textbooks, especially for primary education. Among the new primers, two are especially interesting - “The First Teaching of a Youth” by F. Prokopovich and “An Honest Mirror of Youth.” In the first of them, instead of prayers common in old primers, their interpretations were given, which made it much easier for children to learn to read and write. The preface talked about raising children. “An Honest Mirror of Youth” is the first secular textbook. At the beginning of the book, the alphabet, syllables and numbers were given, and at the end - exercises - rules of behavior and good manners. Such books contributed to the restructuring of the worldview and life of the Russian people.

In addition to primers, dictionaries were published, for example, “The trilingual lexicon, that is, the sayings of Slavic, Hellenic-Greek and Latin treasures,” compiled by F.P. Polikarpov. Dictionaries and manuals for studying foreign languages ​​were necessary in international relations, navigation, and science, so great attention was paid to their publication.

Mathematics textbooks became very important: without knowledge of it, industry, military engineering and maritime affairs could not develop. As a rule, they were of an applied nature. A typical example of such a textbook is “Arithmetic,” compiled “for the sake of teaching the wise-loving Russian youths, and of every rank and age of people” by the Russian mathematician, teacher of the Moscow Navigation School L.F. Magnitsky. “Arithmetic” was published in 1703. The content of the book is much broader than its title. It provides initial information on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry in their practical application to mechanics, geodesy, and navigation. Magnitsky’s “Arithmetic” aroused interest in the sciences and was understandable and accessible to a wide range of readers in the 18th century. Many generations of Russian people studied from this book, which absorbed all modern knowledge in the field of mathematics.

In 1708, “Geometry of Slavic land surveying” was published - the first book of the civil press. On the title page it was noted that the book was printed in a new font, “published with new typographical embossing”, the place and date of publication were indicated - “In the reigning great city of Moscow” on March 1, 1708. “Geometry” was of an applied nature - it gave not only theoretical knowledge, but and methods of their practical application in various branches of technology, knowledge in the field of drawing. The book contains many drawings and images of fortresses. The initial circulation of “Geometry” (200 copies) did not satisfy the need, and it was reprinted several times and distributed in handwritten copies.

The wars waged by Russia and the creation of the army and navy created a great need for specialized literature on military engineering, fortification, artillery technology, navigation, shipbuilding, etc.

In 1708 the first printed technical book was published. It was dedicated to hydraulic engineering and was called “The Book of Methods for Creating Free Flow of Rivers,” abbreviated as “The Book of Weeping.” It was a translation of a book by engineer Buyer, published anonymously in Amsterdam in 1696. Its appearance was associated with the construction of waterways necessary for the development of industry and trade.

Urban planning in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century, especially the construction of St. Petersburg, increased interest in architecture and construction technology. Connected with this is the publication of a book by the outstanding Italian architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, who together with Michelangelo built the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome, "The Rule of the Five Rules of Architecture." The publication contains more than a hundred engravings with explanatory text. The books on architecture are accompanied by an album of engravings entitled “Kunsts of Gardens”. The engravings show garden pavilions, gazebos, trellises, vases, etc.

Due to the development of navigation, the demand for books on astronomy increased. The “Book of the World View, or Opinion on the Heavenly Globes” was published twice. This is the first printed publication in which the Copernican system was presented in a popular form. The author of the book, Dutch mechanic, physicist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, described the structure of the solar system, the structure and movement of the planets, gave an idea of ​​the distances of the universe, and developed the idea of ​​organic life on the planets.

“Geography, or a Brief Description of the Earth’s Circle” was published several times. The book contains additions concerning Russia.

“General Geography” by B. Vareniya, translated from Latin by F. Polikarpov, gives a physical and geographical description of the globe. Separate chapters are devoted to “ship science.” The book uses mathematical and astronomical information.

In terms of the number of publications, humanities literature occupied a prominent place in Peter's time. Of the 50 books on the humanities, 26 are from historical disciplines, 12 from politics, 8 from philology, 1 from jurisprudence, and 1 from library science. Historical works were published especially frequently. This is the “Synopsis” of I. Gisel, “The History... of the Devastation of Jerusalem”, “A Brief Description of the Wars from the Books of the Caesarians”. In the “Introduction to European History” by the German scientist S. Pufendorf, not only does the chronology of events appear, but for the first time an attempt is made to generalize historical facts. The “Book of Mars, or military affairs” can also be classified as historical books. These are separate reports and “journals” about battles in the Northern War and engravings. They were collected over a number of years and stitched together only as needed.

“Butts of How to Write Different Compliments” played a big role in changing the Moscow way of life, in which new samples of letters were given. “Butts” taught politeness, respect for the individual, and introduced the “you” address for the first time. The same role was played by the book “Friendly Conversations” by Erasmus of Rotterdam, which contained examples of polite conversation. There are still few works of fiction. Translations of ancient classics were mainly published - Aesop's fables and others.

Prose and poetic greetings for various special days, collections of moralizing stories, war stories, and proverbs were also published. Calendars were published in large numbers every year. They also provided a variety of information from history, astronomy, and medicine. The first “January” calendar was published in Amsterdam at the Tessing printing house. In Moscow, it was printed in civil type in 1708. The circulation of books at this time ranged from 100 to 1200 copies, but alphabet books, church books and government decrees were published in much larger quantities. In total, in the first quarter of the 18th century. 561 books were published, including about 300 civilian books, which have now become a bibliographic rarity.

The first Russian printed newspaper

Throughout the first quarter of the 18th century. The first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti was published, which replaced the handwritten Chimes.

The first issues of Vedomosti were published on December 16-17, 1702, but printed copies have not survived. On December 27, 1702, the “Journal, or Daily Painting,” which was repaired during the recent siege near the Noteburkh fortress, was published in a thousand copies. September from the 26th in 1702." The first surviving issue is dated January 2, 1703. The beginning of the Russian periodical press is counted from there. “Gazettes” usually consisted of four pages of 1/12 of a sheet; individual issues were published in a larger format with the number of pages up to 22.

Until 1710, Vedomosti was printed in small church font, from February 1 (12), 1710 - in civil font, but the most important issues were also reprinted in the former Cyrillic font for wider distribution. Since 1714, most of the Vedomosti circulation was printed in St. Petersburg.

The circulation of Vedomosti ranged from tens to several thousand copies. The frequency was uncertain. There were also handwritten collections of Vedomosti. The topics of Vedomosti are varied. Vedomosti appeared at a time when Russia was straining all its forces to repel Charles XII. The publication of Vedomosti was supposed to help launch counter-propaganda. Carefully selecting facts, the newspaper, in reports from the theater of military operations, created a broad and eloquent picture of the increase in Russia's military power and the increase in its superiority over the Swedish army.

The newspaper often published materials about the successes of Russian industry and popularized the successes of education. In the first issue that has reached us, we read: “By the command of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying, and 45 people listen to philosophy and have already graduated from dialectics. More than 300 people study at the Sturman Mathematical School and embrace good science.” Vedomosti reported on events in foreign life, covering them from the point of view of Russian state interests. Trade information directly related to the interests of the Russian merchants occupied a large place in the newspaper. The newspaper was edited alternately by F. Polikarpov, M. Avramov and B. Volkov. The court chronicle was kept (since 1720) by the translator of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Yakov Sinyavich.

The newspaper's circulation did not always sell out, and the remainder, as a rule, was used as material for binding books. The publication of Vedomosti was discontinued by the successors of Peter I after his death.

The need to transform the Russian language

The new Russian literary language, which was formed during the reign of Peter I, was designed to serve the continuously growing needs of the state, developing science and technology, culture and art. Thus, the new administrative structure, the transformation of the Moscow state into the Russian Empire, gave rise to the names of many new ranks and titles included in the “table of ranks”, speech features of bureaucratic subordination: formulas for addressing lower ranks to higher ones.

The development of military, and especially naval affairs, which was almost absent in Muscovite Rus', gave rise to many relevant manuals and instructions, military and naval regulations, saturated with new special terminology, new special expressions, which completely replaced the words and expressions associated with the ancient Moscow military way of life . Naval, artillery, fortification terminology and other branches of special vocabulary are being re-formed.

Along with this, to meet the needs of the increasingly Europeanized nobility, various guidelines were created that regulated the everyday life of the higher social classes. We mean books such as “An Honest Mirror of Youth”, “Butts, How to Write Different Compliments”, etc. In works of this kind, which introduced “secular politesse” among the still insufficiently educated and cultured nobility, neologisms and words and expressions borrowed from European languages ​​were constantly encountered, interspersed with traditional Church Slavonicisms and archaisms.

In connection with the restructuring of public administration, with the development of industry and trade, the language of business correspondence is becoming significantly more complex and enriched. He is moving further and further away from old Moscow norms and traditions and is noticeably moving closer to the lively colloquial speech of the middle strata of the population.

Peter I, recommending that when translating from foreign languages ​​to refrain from book Slavic sayings, advised translators to take the language of the embassy order as a model: “There is no need to put in lofty Slavic words; use the words of the ambassador’s order.”

The Petrine era significantly enriches the role of secular writing in society compared to church writing. Completely new types are also emerging, for example, periodicals. The immediate predecessor of our newspapers were the handwritten “Courants”, published under the Ambassadorial Prikaz in Moscow from the second half of the 17th century. However, such informing of the population about current events was very imperfect and was not disseminated among the general public.

Peter I, interested in ensuring that the wider possible strata of society understood the issues of foreign and domestic policy of the state (and this was during the years of the Northern War with Sweden, which was difficult and debilitating for Russia), contributed to the founding of the first Russian printed newspaper. It was called “Gazette of Military and Other Affairs” and began publication on January 2, 1703; At first it was printed in the Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet, and then, after the graphics reform, in civil font. The newspaper was initially published in Moscow, and irregularly, as correspondence accumulated. Since 1711, Vedomosti began to be published in the new capital, St. Petersburg.

The emergence of regular periodicals led to the development of many new genres of literary language: correspondence, notes, articles, on the basis of which subsequently, at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th centuries, the journalistic style of the literary language emerged.

In Moscow there are now copper cannons again: howitzers and martyrs. 400 poured. Those cannons, 24, 18 and 12 pound cannonballs. Bomb howitzers are worth a pound and half a pound. Martyrs with a bomb of nine, three and two pounds and less. And there are many more molds of ready-made great and medium-sized cannons, howitzers and martyrs; and now there is more than 40,000 pounds of copper in the cannon yard, which is prepared for new casting.

By order of His Majesty, Moscow schools are multiplying, and 45 people are studying philosophy, and have already graduated from dialectics.

More than 300 people study at the mathematical navigation school, and they accept science well.

They write from Kazan. On the Soku River they found a lot of oil and copper ore; a fair amount of copper was smelted from that ore, from which they hope to generate considerable profit for the Moscow state.

From Olonets they write: The city of Olonets, priest Ivan Okulov, having gathered foot hunters with a thousand people, went abroad to the Svei border, and defeated the Svei Rugozen, and Hippon, and Kerisur outposts. And at those outposts of the Swedes he defeated a large number of Swedes, and took the Reitar banner, drums and sleepers, enough guns and horses, and what he took, the priest, took supplies and belongings, and thus satisfied his soldiers, and the rest of the belongings and grain supplies that he could not take , I burned everything. And he burned the Solovskaya manor, and around Solovskaya many manors and villages, he burned about a thousand courtyards. And at the above-mentioned outposts, according to the list of languages ​​that were taken, 50 people were killed by the Swedish cavalry...”

Among the social reforms carried out with the participation of Peter I, the reform of graphics and the introduction of the so-called civil alphabet, i.e., were directly related to the history of the Russian literary language. that form of the Russian alphabet that we continue to use to this day.

The reform of the Russian alphabet, carried out with the direct participation of Peter I, is rightfully recognized as “an external, but full of deep meaning, symbol of the divergence between the church-book language and secular... styles of written speech.” The civil alphabet brought the Russian printed font closer to the printing patterns of European books. The old Kirill Slavic graphics, which served the Russian people in all branches of their writing for seven centuries, were preserved after the reform only for the printing of church and liturgical books. Thus, it was “relegated to the role of the hieroglyphic language of religious cult.”

After many years of careful preparation (the font of the printing house of Ilya Kopievich in Amsterdam and Koenigsberg), the new civil font was finally approved by Peter I in January 1710. Proof sheets of test samples of the font have reached us, with notes made by the hand of Peter I himself and indicating which ones. sample letters from those submitted for approval should be kept and which ones should be discarded.

Peter's graphic reform, without radically restructuring the system of Russian writing, nevertheless significantly contributed to its improvement and simplification. Those letters of the Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet were eliminated, which had long been superfluous, not conveying the sounds of Slavic speech - the letters xi, psi, small and large yusy. As a doublet, the letter zelo was eliminated. All letters were given a more rounded and simple style, bringing the civilian printed font closer to the Latin “antiqua” font, which was widespread in Europe in those years. All superscript marks used in the Kirill Slavic seal were abolished: titla (abbreviations), aspirations, “strength” (accent marks). All this also brought the civil alphabet closer to the European graphics and at the same time significantly simplified it. Finally, the numerical values ​​of Slavic letters were abolished and the Arabic numerical system was finally introduced.

All this facilitated the acquisition of writing and contributed to the widespread spread of literacy in Russian society, which was fully interested in the rapid spread of secular education among all social strata.

The main significance of the graphic reform was that it removed “the veil of “holy scripture” from literary semantics”, provided great opportunities for revolutionary changes in the sphere of the Russian literary language, opened a wider path for the Russian literary language and the styles of living oral speech, and to the assimilation of Europeanisms that surged at that time from Western languages.

Enrichment and renewal of the vocabulary of the Russian literary language during the first quarter of the 18th century. occurs mainly due to the borrowing of words from living Western European languages: German, Dutch, French, partly from English and Italian. Along with this, the vocabulary continues to expand from the Latin language. The mediation of the Polish language, which was so characteristic of the 17th century, almost disappears, and in the Peter the Great era the Russian literary language comes into direct contact with the languages ​​of Western Europe. We can note three main ways in which dictionary borrowings are carried out. These are, firstly, translations from certain languages ​​of books of scientific or etiquette content. Secondly, the penetration of foreign words into the Russian vocabulary from the speech of foreign specialists - officers, engineers or craftsmen who served in the Russian service and did not know the Russian language well. Thirdly, the introduction of foreign words and sayings into the Russian language by Russian people who, at the initiative of Peter I, were sent abroad and often studied and worked there for many years.

Intensified translation activity in the Peter the Great era was predominantly directed towards socio-political, popular science and technical literature, which led to the rapprochement of the Russian language with the then Western European ulcers, which had rich and diverse terminological systems.

Peter I himself took a keen interest in the activities of translators, sometimes specifically entrusting the translation of foreign books to his associates. Thus, I. N. Zotov was entrusted with translating a book on fortification from German. Peter I ordered translators to “beware”, “in order to translate more clearly, Speech should not be kept from speech in translation, but having precisely understood this, write into your own language as clearly as possible.”

Translation of scientific and technical literature in that era involved overcoming incredible difficulties, since the Russian language had almost no corresponding terminological vocabulary, and there were also no internal semantic relationships and correspondences between Russian and Western European languages. “If you write them [terms] simply, without depicting them in our language, or in Latin, or in German syllables, then there will be a very eclipse in the matter,” noted one of the translators of that time, Voeikov. This naturally led to the concerns of the government and Peter I personally about training experienced translators who were also familiar with any branch of technology.

The difficulties experienced by the translation authors of that time are also evidenced by Weber’s story about the fate of the translator Volkov, whom Peter I commissioned to translate a French book on gardening. Desperate to convey in Russian all the complexities of gardening terms and fearing responsibility, this unfortunate man committed suicide. Of course, most of the translators still remained alive and coped with the tasks assigned to them. It is no coincidence that the first book printed in civilian type was a book on geometry, created from a German original. The work of translators has enriched and replenished the Russian language with special vocabulary that it previously lacked.

From the speech of foreign specialists who served in Russia, many words and expressions also passed into the popular and literary Russian language, as well as into the special, professional speech of artisans, soldiers, and sailors.

Let us give some examples of the penetration of words of English origin into the professional vocabulary of sailors. The word all-hands, apparently, goes back to the English (or Dutch) “over all”: the command “all hands to the top!” The word half-under (alarm on a ship) also, in all likelihood, comes from the English command “fall onder” (literally, fall down) - this is how the signal was given on sailing ships for the crew to descend from the yards and masts, where they were operating the sails, and to prepare for battle. Obviously, the custom accepted to this day in the navy is to respond to the commander’s order with a word! can be raised to the English affirmative word "yes".

From the speech of foreign engineers and craftsmen, the vocabulary of carpentry, plumbing, and shoemaking could penetrate into the Russian language. Words such as chisel, sherhebel, drill, etc., were borrowed orally from the German language. From there, locksmith terms came into our language: workbench, screw, tap, valve - and the word locksmith itself. Words characteristic of shoemaking are borrowed from German: dratva, rasp, wax, paste, schlschrer and many others. etc.

Russian nobles, who studied abroad following the example of Peter I himself, easily introduced into their speech words from the language of the country where they happened to live. Then these individual borrowings could fall into general linguistic use. So, for example, steward Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, sent by Peter I to Italy at the age of over 50 to study shipbuilding there, writes in his foreign diary: “In Venice there are wonderful operas and comedies that I can’t describe at all; and nowhere in the whole world such marvelous operas and comedies exist and do not exist. When I was in Venice there were operas in five places; those chambers in which those operas take place are great round ones, the Italians call them Teatrum, in those floors many closets are made, five rows up, and there are 200 of those closets in this theater, and in another 300 or more... the floor is made slightly askew to that place where they play, chairs and benches are placed below so that one can see from behind the others...” Let us note the words theater, opera, comedy, etc.

Another associate of Peter I, Prince B.I. Kurakin, describes his stay in Florence in these words: “During his time there was an inamorato, famous for the goodness of one chitadina (citizen) called Signora Francescha Rota and was so inamorato that he could not live without her for an hour be... and I parted with great crying and sadness, and to this day that amor cannot leave my heart, and, I hope, will not leave, and I took her person as a memorial and promised to return to her again.”

The book “An Honest Mirror of Youth,” published in St. Petersburg in 1719, instructs the then noble youths as follows: “Young youths who came from foreign lands and learned languages ​​with great dedication, they have to imitate and are careful not to forget them, but it is better to learn them more completely: namely, by reading useful books, and through being polite to others, and sometimes writing and arranging something in them, so as not to forget languages.” Further in the same book, it is recommended that young nobles speak to each other in foreign languages, especially if they have to convey something to each other in the presence of servants, so that they cannot understand and divulge the message: “Young youths should always speak foreign languages ​​among themselves, so that they could get used to it: and especially when something secret happens to them, so that the servants and maids cannot find out and so that they can be recognized from other ignorant fools, for every merchant, praising his goods, sells as best he can.”

The nobles' passion for foreign language vocabulary often led to the use of foreign words unnecessarily, which sometimes made it difficult to understand their speech and sometimes created annoying misunderstandings. This is how the writer and historian V.I. Tatishchev characterizes this fashion for foreign words, which spread in Russian society during the Petrine era. He talks in his notes about a certain Major General Luka Chirikov, who, in his words, “was an intelligent man, but was overcome by the passion of curiosity, and although he did not know any foreign language at all, and many foreign words were often not useful and not in the force in which they are used, he laid.” In 1711, during the Prut campaign, General Chirikov ordered one of his subordinate captains with a detachment of dragoons to “stand below Kamenets and above Konetspol in an important place.” This captain did not know the word avant-garde and took it for his own name. “This captain, having come to the Dniester, asked about this city, because in Polish a place means a city; but as no one could tell him, he walked more than sixty miles along the Dniester to the empty Konetspol and did not find it, back to Kamenets, having killed more than half of the horses, he turned around and wrote that he had not found such a city.”

Another incident that arose out of General Chirikov’s fascination with foreign words was no less tragicomic. Tatishchev says that Chirikov, by his order, ordered the foragers to gather, “a lieutenant colonel and two majors should be in charge of them in turn. When everyone has gathered, the lieutenant colonel and the bedeken march first, followed by the foragers, and the dragoons conclude the march.” Those gathered, not realizing that zbedeken was not a nickname for the lieutenant colonel, but a cover, of course, waited a long time for the arrival of a lieutenant colonel with that name. Only a day later the misunderstanding became clear.

The best people of the era, led by Peter I himself, consistently fought against the passion for foreign language borrowings. Thus, Emperor Peter himself wrote to one of the then diplomats (Rudakovsky): “In your communications you use a lot of Polish and other foreign words and terms with which it is impossible to understand the matter itself; For this reason, from now on you should write all your communications to us in Russian, without using foreign words and terms.” Correcting the translation of the book “Rimpler’s Manira on the Structure of Fortresses” presented to him, Peter I makes the following amendments and additions to the foreign language terms found in the text of the translation: “axiom of perfect rules”; “lozhirung or dwelling, that is, the enemy will seize places where there are military fortresses”, etc.

The renewal of the vocabulary of the Russian literary language in the Petrine era was especially clearly manifested in the sphere of administrative vocabulary. At this time it was replenished mainly with borrowings from German, Latin, and partly French. According to calculations by N.A. Smirnov, made at the beginning of our century, about a quarter of all borrowings of the Petrine era fall precisely on “words of the administrative language”, displacing the use of the corresponding Old Russian names. Here is how he characterizes this process: “Now there appear an administrator, an actuary, an auditor, an accountant, a king of arms, a governor, an inspector, a chamberlain, a chancellor, a landgewing, a minister, a police chief, a president, a prefect, a ratman and other more or less important persons, at the head of which the emperor himself is standing. All these persons in their ampt, archive, hofgericht, province, chancellery, collegium, commission, office, town hall, senate, synod and other administrative institutions that replaced the recent thoughts and orders, address, accredit, test, arrest, run for office, confiscate , correspond, claim, second, interpret, exorcize, fine, etc. incognito, in envelopes, packages, various acts, accidents, amnesties, appeals, leases, bills, bonds, orders, projects, reports, tariffs, etc.” As can be seen from the list above, this administrative vocabulary includes names of persons according to their ranks and positions, names of institutions, names of various types of business documents.

In second place, the same researcher puts words related to naval affairs, borrowed mainly from Dutch, partly from English. Words of Dutch origin include harbor, roadstead, fairway, keel, skipper, rudder, yard, boat, berth, shipyard, dock, cable, cabin, flight, gangway, cutter. From English - bot, schooner, foot, brig, midshipman and some others (see above).

Military vocabulary, which also expanded significantly during the Petrine era, is borrowed mainly from German, partly from French. The words cadet, watchman, corporal, general, slogan, assembly house, guardhouse, camp, assault, etc. are of German origin. From French came to us barrier, breach, battalion, bastion, garrison, password, caliber, arena, gallop, march, mortar, carriage, etc.

The vocabulary of everyday speech of the nobility, as well as vocabulary associated with the ideas of secular “polites”, is replenished mainly from the French language: assembly, ball, soup (dinner), interest, intrigue, cupid, voyage, company (gathering of friends), avantage, courage , reason and many others. etc.

The influx of a huge number of foreign words into Russian speech at the beginning of the century gave rise to the need to compile special dictionaries of foreign vocabulary. Such a dictionary was then created with the personal participation of Peter I himself, who made his notes and explanations in the margins of the manuscript. “Lexicon of new vocabulary in alphabetical order,” as this manual was entitled, is very diverse in subject matter. The words refer to various kinds of professions, to production, to scientific terms, to the sphere of government and culture. Each of the foreign words interpreted in the Lexicon is given their Russian and Church Slavonic counterparts, sometimes occasionally formed neologisms. Thus, the word architect is translated as house builder, canal as water supply, etc. To the word amnesty, originally interpreted by the Church Slavonic word unconsciousness, an explanation was added by the hand of Peter I: “forgetting of sins.” Admiralty Peter I gave the following comprehensive interpretation of the vocable: “Meeting of rulers and founders of the fleet.” The word battle is given an interpretation: “battle, battle, battle,” the last two words are emphasized by Peter I, who added to this: “less than 100 people.” The word Victoria is explained as “victory, overcoming,” and the latter definition is also emphasized by Peter I as preferable in his opinion. Perhaps Peter I knew that in the ancient Russian language the word victory had several meanings, but the word overcoming was unambiguous and exactly corresponded to the Latin.

Attempts to find a Russian equivalent for foreign vocabulary were not always successful, and a number of translations offered in the Lexicon, as the subsequent history of these words on Russian soil showed, turned out to be unviable. Thus, the word fireworks was translated as “fiery fun and figures”; the word captain is like “centurion”, etc. These translations did not survive in subsequent Russian word usage, and the borrowed word gained unconditional dominance in it.

Assessing the influx of foreign borrowings into the Russian language at the beginning of the 18th century, V. G. Belinsky at one time noted that the “root” of the use “in the Russian language of foreign words ... lies deeply in the reform of Peter the Great, who introduced us to many completely new concepts, so completely alien, for the expression of which we did not have our own words. Therefore, it was necessary to express other people’s concepts in someone else’s ready-made words. Some of these words remained untranslated and unreplaced and therefore received citizenship rights in the Russian dictionary.” According to the same critic, the preference for some foreign words to their translated equivalents, tracings, is a preference for the original for the copy. V. G. Belinsky believed that the idea is somehow more spacious in the word in which it found itself for the first time, it seems to merge with it, the word becomes untranslatable. “Translate the word catechism by announcement, monopoly by single sale, figure by convolution, period by circle, action by action, and absurdity emerges.”

We can fully join the opinions expressed by the great critic in his time and admit that the Europeanization of the vocabulary of the Russian literary language, which made itself felt with particular force in the Peter the Great era, undoubtedly benefited our literary language, made it richer, fuller and more expressive and at the same time did not cause any damage to its national identity.

The period of the reign of Peter I is characterized by stylistic disorder of the literary language. The rapid development of functional styles at the beginning of the 18th century. affected, as already noted, first of all, in business, and then in artistic speech,” which significantly expanded the scope of its use.

In the language of business writing of the Petrine era, opposing elements, old, traditional, and new, coexisted. The first include Church Slavonic words and forms, as well as expressions from the Old Moscow language of orders; the second includes foreign language borrowings (barbarisms) that are poorly mastered by the language, vernacular language, features of dialect word usage, pronunciation and form formation.

To illustrate, we will use some of the letters of Peter I. In May 1705, he wrote to General Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin: “Herr! Today I received information about your bad deed, for which you can pay with your neck, for I, through Mr. Governor, under death, did not order anything to be allowed into Riga. But you write what Ogilvia told you to do. But I write this: even if it were an angel, this bold and annoying person would not have ordered it, but you were not strong enough to do this. From now on, if a single chip passes, I swear to God, you will be headless. Peter. From Moscow, May 10, 1705.”

Let us also note here the solemn Church Slavonic: “even if he were an angel, he is not exactly a bold and annoying person”; “You didn’t have enough to fix this”, “if only one chip passes and the colloquial “you can pay with your neck”, “I swear to God, you will be without a head.” And then there are the barbarisms - the Dutch address Herr and the signature Piter - written in Latin letters.

Another letter, to Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky, dates from 1707: “Siir! Please, at the congress, announce to all the ministers who are coming to the conference that they write down all the matters that they advise, and each minister signs with his own hand what is absolutely necessary, and without that, they do not determine any business at all. For by this all stupidity will be revealed. Piter, z Vili" on October 7, 1707."

And here we note the Church Slavonic “it will be revealed” and the colloquial “it is very necessary”, “all stupidity”, etc., and along with this the Latin words minister, conziliya, as well as Dutch addresses and signature.

The stylistic diversity and disorder of the literary language of the Peter the Great era is revealed even more clearly when examining the language and style of translated and original stories of this time.

Numerous and diverse genres of the secular “gallant story”, love lyrics of the same era and other genres previously unknown to ancient Russian literature are widely represented both in printed publications and in manuscripts. The emphasized interest in “romantic haberdashery” and European skills of “everyday manners” is reflected in their language. Curious, for example, in the “Discourse on Providing Peace” (St. Petersburg, 1720) are the definitions of “romantic haberdashery” and “lost gentlemen.” Haberdasheries are books “in which fables are described about cupids, that is, about women’s love and brave deeds for it,” and “chevaliers errantes, or lost gentlemen, are called all those who, traveling all over the world, without any reasoning in they interfere in other people’s affairs and show their courage.” As we see, here, as in a distorting mirror, a belated fascination with medieval Western European chivalric novels is reflected, the traditions of which are being introduced both into the translated stories of the Peter the Great era, and into the original works created by anonymous authors based on these translated models.

And the language of stories, as well as the language of business correspondence, in the Peter the Great era is characterized by a no less bizarre mixture of those basic speech elements from which the Russian literary language was historically formed by that time. These are, on the one hand, words, expressions and grammatical forms of traditional, church-book origin; on the other hand, these are words and word forms of a colloquial, even dialectal nature; on the third, these are foreign language elements of speech, often poorly mastered by the Russian language in phonetic, morphological and semantic terms.

Let's look at some examples. In “The Story of Alexander, a Russian Nobleman” we read: “However, having arrived, he rented an apartment near the pastor’s quarters and lived for a long time in great amusements, so that those living in that city of Lille, seeing the beauty of his face and the sharpness of his mind, among all the visiting cavaliers were honored with primacy.” Or further, “... she answered him: “My lady Eleanor of this city, the pastor’s daughter, sent me to your apartment to see who was playing, because the game attracted her to a great desire to listen.” Here, against the general background of church-book means of expression, such “Europeanisms” as apartment, cavaliers, pastoral, and exotic names Lille and Eleanor attract attention. In the same context, without any stylistic correlation, we find the colloquial “to visit your apartment” and the traditional “in that city”, “honored with primacy”, “before... she was attracted to listening”, etc.

In another story of the same time - “History of the Russian sailor Vasily” - we read: “The last few days in the morning, the esaul of their team came running early from the sea and announced: “Mr. Ataman, please send a party of fellows to the sea, since merchant galleys are traveling across the sea with goods". Hearing this, the chieftain shouted “Fuck you!” Then, in one minute, everyone armed themselves and marched into battle.” In this context, the chaotic combination of speech means is also striking. The traditional turnover of the dative independent in the past days, the aorist forms armed and stasha; here is the folk molodtsov, and here are such foreign words, fashionable at that time, as team, to send, party, in frunt, etc.

Peter I during production in 1707-1708. the first set of the new Russian so-called “civil” font developed at his direction excluded eight of these nine letters from the Russian alphabet: ы6 ь6 е6 36 я6 as well as f “fert” (leaving = “fita”), z “earth” (leaving Y "zelo"), and (leaving:). This is exactly how the first book typed in civil type was printed - “Geometry of the Slavonic Semlemery” (1708).

However, Peter later restored most of these letters, and the only ones not included in the educational alphabet of 1710 were I “yus”, Y “psi”, E “omega”, and also Ъ “ot” - E with t inscribed above it. As a result of this from 1711 to 1735, Russian civil books were printed differently - sometimes with one or another alphabet composition.

Peter's reform had great revolutionary significance in the history of Russian writing. Having clearly shown the need for restructuring and updating the Russian alphabet, this reform, in addition, entailed a number of subsequent reforms carried out by the Academy of Sciences.

Civil font- a font introduced in Russia by Peter I in 1708 for printing secular publications as a result of the first reform of the Russian alphabet (changes in the composition of the alphabet and simplification of the letters of the alphabet).

The prerequisite for the creation of a civil font was the fashion for the Latin alphabet, which spread among educated Russian people in the 1680s - 1690s. The civil font became a compromise between supporters of traditions and those who sought to borrow Western culture as completely as possible.

Peter's reform of the Russian typographical font was carried out in 1708-1710. Its goal was to bring the appearance of Russian books and other printed publications closer to what Western European publications of that time looked like, which were sharply different from the typically medieval-looking Russian publications, which were typed in Church Slavonic font - semi-ustav. In January 1707, based on sketches supposedly made personally by Peter I, the draftsman and draftsman Kulenbach, who was at the army headquarters, made drawings of thirty-two lowercase letters of the Russian alphabet, as well as four uppercase letters (A, D, E, T). A complete set of type characters in three sizes based on Kulenbach’s drawings was ordered in Amsterdam from the printing house of the Belarusian master Ilya Kopievich; At the same time, fonts based on these designs were ordered in Moscow, at the Printing Yard.

As is clear from Peter's letters, in June 1707 he received samples of medium-sized fonts from Amsterdam, and in September - prints of a trial set in large and small sized fonts. A printing press and other printing equipment were purchased in Holland, and qualified typographers were hired to work in Russia and train Russian specialists.

Closer in graphics to Western European ones, the new font was conceived to simplify typographic typesetting on printing presses manufactured in Western Europe. The new - civil - font was intended for printing secular publications: official publications and periodicals, technical, military, scientific, educational and fiction literature. In addition to the introduction of a new design of letters, the composition of the alphabet was also revised: superscripts and some doublet letters of the semi-character were excluded, the letter E, European (Arabic) numerals were approved instead of letter designations for numbers, punctuation and the use of capital letters in the set were streamlined. The use of the half-rut was limited to the sphere of liturgical literature.

The composition of the Russian alphabet and its graphics continued to change later. The alphabet was established by the middle of the 18th century and remained in this form until the reforms of 1917-1918, while the lettering completely coincided with the current one in the middle of the 19th century. Based on the model of the Russian civil font and using the same letter styles (with the necessary changes), the writing of other peoples who used the Cyrillic alphabet (Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian) was reorganized in the 18th-19th centuries.

The italic version of the typographical civil font has been used since 1734 (for the first time in the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti”); it goes back to the engraved italic used already a century earlier. Typographic italic styles were initially close to handwritten ones, but over time they changed under the influence of roman font. As a result, in the current italic Cyrillic alphabet, the capital letters are usually identical in construction to the letters of the roman font and differ only in the inclination; in some typefaces - especially block ones - strictly speaking, there is no italics at all, but only an italic font.

The handwritten version of the civil font (“civil letter”) was the last to develop - only in the second half of the 18th century. Previously, cursive writing of the old Moscow model was used.

A new type of font introduced by Emperor Peter I for the printing of secular (“civil”) publications to replace typesetting semi-character as a result of the Russian font reform of 1708–1710. The civil font was built on the basis of the Latin antique and the Moscow ceremonial cursive (civil letter). As a result of the reform, the design of letters was changed, the alphabet was modernized, the use of capital letters, punctuation marks and European Arabic numerals was streamlined, after which the Cyrillic font began to develop parallel to the Latin one. As a result of the reform, the Cyrillic alphabet received most of the stylistic features of the Latin script, and thus the appearance of the book in Russian was closer to the European book. Sketches of the new letters were presumably made by Peter I himself, and the further process of manufacturing and adjusting the font took place with his direct participation. Based on the sketches in Amsterdam and Moscow, punches and matrices were made for casting three pins of the new font, after which, by decree of Peter I, it was forbidden to use the semi-charter for the publication of secular literature, which is why the new font later received its name.

Semantic roots of the term “design”

The semantic roots of the term “design” go back to the Latin “designare” - to determine, to designate. The Italian "disegno" has denoted projects, drawings, as well as fundamental ideas since the Renaissance. In England, the concept of “design” spread in the 16th century.
The etymology (original meanings) of the English concept of “design” covers several semantic series (according to E.N. Lazarev).

Genetically primary is a number of definitions of the “decorative” order: pattern, ornament, decor, decoration, decoration.

The second row includes “design-graphic” interpretations: sketch, sketch, drawing, the project itself, drawing, design. The third row, going beyond the direct project, is “anticipating” concepts: plan, assumption, design, intention.

And finally, the fourth row of definitions is unexpectedly “dramatic”: an undertaking, a trick, an intention and even an intrigue.

This wide range of English-language meanings, combined with the acute social orientation of traditional design with special attention to the problems of “human factors”, quite fully corresponds to the designation of new varieties of design activity. Domestic terms used from the early 1960s to the 1980s - “artistic design” (official state) and “artistic design” (among artists, art historians and philosophers) - were more specific and at the same time narrower in meaning.

Design today is understood as both the actual creative artistic or artistic-technical process in the field of design activity, and the results of this process - projects - sketches, drawings, layouts, and other video and audio materials. The term “design” is also used to characterize completed projects - products, environmental objects, printed products, etc.

In English, the word "design" means - to design, to construct - that is, any design, the process of creating new objects, tools, equipment, the formation of a subject environment. Design is a new type of artistic and design professional activity that arose in the 20th century. Its goal is to create a holistic aesthetic environment for human life. Designing objects in which the form corresponds to its purpose, is functional, economical, convenient and at the same time beautiful.

The ambiguity of the term “design” requires an explanation of this concept. If in the media design is usually understood as the external appearance of things, interiors and printed products, then at the theoretical level design is either the external appearance of a thing (the shape of a thing), or the process of its mental creation - design. Now that the roots of the term “design” have been forgotten and it has acquired new concepts, denoting a variety of, often opposing phenomena, and since design is understood differently by different specialists, such as:

Appearance of products.

The entire thing, including all functions; its design process; organizational activities.

A field of activity that includes theory, practice, products and service, a special way of thinking.

Worldview and functionality

In the interests of the study, it is necessary to determine the meaning of the term “design” and clarify the tasks of design, which involves turning to a qualitatively new degree of research - philosophical, as well as to the theory of culture, activity and social philosophy. The obvious value of such an analysis lies in the consideration of historical interpretations of design, which quite naturally clarify its origin and essence.

The concept of “design” as a type of activity became popular at the end of the 19th century. The word “design” appeared for the first time in Europe and translated from Italian means the concept of creating a work of art, born from an artist and inspired by God. In the Oxford Dictionary you can find your own interpretation of this word: “A human-conceived plan or diagram of something that will be realized, the first sketch of a future work of art.” Note that the evolution of the content of the concept of “design” clearly demonstrates qualitatively new semantic and methodological definitions, with different tasks.

Today, the term “design” is usually used to characterize the process of artistic and technical design, as well as to determine the results of this process - projects and already completed projects. It is important to note the fact that the place of design, its role and purpose in the production, economic, as well as cultural spheres of society are not clearly defined. Researchers of this phenomenon, philosophers, art historians, and teachers often disagree in their views and judgments regarding the goals and objectives of design. However, there is some experience in design theory, according to the definition adopted at the International Design Seminar in Bruges, “design is a creative activity whose purpose is to determine the formal properties of industrial products. These qualities include the external characteristics of products, but mainly the structural and functional relationships that transform the product into a single whole, both from the point of view of the consumer and the manufacturer.”

On January 29 (February 8), 1710, Peter the Great's reform of the Cyrillic alphabet was completed in Russia - Peter I approved the new civil alphabet and civil font. The Russian Orthodox Church continued to use the Church Slavonic alphabet.

The reform was related to the needs of the state, which needed a large number of educated domestic specialists and the timely delivery of official information to the population. The achievement of these goals was hampered by the weak development of printing, which was focused primarily on the dissemination of spiritual literature and did not take into account changes in language. By the end of the 17th century. The alphabet, which came to Rus' along with Christian writing, retained its archaic features, despite the fact that some letters in secular texts were not used or were used incorrectly. In addition, the form of letters, established within the framework of written culture, was inconvenient for typing printed texts due to the presence of superscripts. Therefore, during the reform, both the composition of the alphabet and the shape of the letters changed.

The search for a new model of the alphabet and font was carried out with the active participation of the king. In January 1707, based on sketches supposedly made personally by Peter I, fortification engineer Kulenbach made drawings of thirty-three lowercase and four capital letters (A, D, E, T) of the Russian alphabet, which were sent to Amsterdam for the production of letters. At the same time, according to the sovereign's decree, word-casting work was carried out at the Moscow Printing Yard, where Russian masters Grigory Alexandrov and Vasily Petrov, under the leadership of word-literate Mikhail Efremov, made their own version of the font, but the quality of the letters did not satisfy the king, and the font of the Dutch masters was adopted for printing books. The first book typed in the new civil font, “Geometry Slavic Land Surveying,” was published in March 1708.

Later, based on the results of typesetting tests, the king decided to change the shape of some letters and return several rejected letters of the traditional alphabet (it is believed that at the insistence of the clergy). On January 18, 1710, Peter I made the last correction, crossing out the first versions of the characters of the new font and the old characters of the printed semi-charter. On the back of the binding of the alphabet, the tsar wrote: “These are the letters to print historical and manufacturing books, but those that are underlined should not be used in the above-mentioned books.” The decree on the introduction of the new alphabet was dated January 29 (February 9), 1710. Soon after the publication of the Decree, a list of books printed in the new alphabet and going on sale appeared in the Gazette of the Moscow State.

As a result of Peter's reform, the number of letters in the Russian alphabet was reduced to 38, their style was simplified and rounded. The forces (a complex system of diacritic accent marks) and the titla, a superscript that allowed letters to be skipped in a word, were abolished. The use of capital letters and punctuation marks was also streamlined, and Arabic numerals began to be used instead of alphabetic numbers.

The composition of the Russian alphabet and its graphics continued to change later towards simplification. The modern Russian alphabet came into use on December 23, 1917 (January 5, 1918) on the basis of the decree of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR “On the introduction of a new spelling.”

Lit.: Brandt R.F. Petrine reform of the alphabet // Bicentennial of the civil font. 1708-1908: Reports made on March 8, 1908 at the general meeting of the Russian Bibliographical Society at the Imperial Moscow University and a review of the exhibition organized at the same time. M., 1910; Grigorovich N.I. Civil ABC with moral teachings. Ruled by the hand of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg, 1877; Grigorieva T. M., Osipov B. I. Russian writing from the old alphabet to the new alphabet // Russian language at school. M., 2002. No. 2; Grigorieva T. M. “To write these letters...” // New University Life. 2008. 13 Nov. (No. 25); The same [Electronic resource]. URL: http://gazeta.sfu-kras.ru/node/1218; Bicentennial of the Russian civil alphabet 1708-1908, M., 1908; Efimov V. Dramatic history of the Cyrillic alphabet. Great Peter's turning point[Electronic resource]// Archives of the GPR forum. 1996-2016. URL: http://speakrus.ru/articles/peter/peter1a.htm;Katsprzhak E.I. History of writing and books. M., 1955; Reforms of the alphabet and spelling // Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary. T. 3. M., 2002; Shitsgal A. G. Graphic basis of the Russian civil font. M.; L., 1947; Shitsgal A.G. Russian civil font. 1708-1958. M., 1959; Shnitser Ya. B. Russian writing // Shnitser Ya. B. Illustrated general history of writings. St. Petersburg, 1903.