Russian Thick Journals

Tolstye zhurnaly (толстые журналы), literally meaning “thick journals” in Russian, are a unique form of literary and cultural periodicals that have played a significant role in Russian intellectual life since the 19th century. These journals typically contain:

  • New works of fiction (novels, short stories, poems)
  • Literary criticism and essays
  • Social and political commentary
  • Cultural analysis

Unlike typical magazines, tolstye zhurnaly are book-length publications, often running to several hundred pages per issue. In the Soviet Union and later in Russia, literary and artistic journals with a full volume of 192-256 pages received the informal name “thick journals” (толстые журналы).

The most comprehensive digital archives for tolstye zhurnaly are available from East View. These collections are on a platform that features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text. They are also cross-searchable with numerous other East View digital resources.

East View is offering digital archives of ten key tolstye zhurnaly in its “Thick Journals” bundle program. Read below for title information and contact us for information on special bundle pricing and trials.

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Digital Archives of Russian Thick Journals

Many libraries have physical copies of these journals taking up hundreds of feet of shelf space. East View is digitizing many of these classics, helping to free up valuable library shelf space and giving researchers easier access to these treasures of Russian culture.

The following ten tolstye zhurnaly are part of East View’s “Thick Journals” bundle program. Contact us for information on special bundle pricing and trials.

Now Available
Zvezda Digital Archive (1924-2024)

Founded in 1924 in Petrograd (later Leningrad, now St. Petersburg), Zvezda (Звезда, The Star) has been a key resource of Russian intellectual and literary circles for a century. The journal’s longevity and resilience through tumultuous periods of Soviet history, including the Siege of Leningrad and Stalinist repression, make it an essential resource for understanding the complexities of Russian cultural development over the past century. Read more: eastview.com/zvezda

 

Znamia Digital Archive (1931-2023)

Znamia (Знамя, Banner) spans over nine decades and serves as a treasure trove of intellectual and artistic contributions. This lively platform for literature, critical analysis, philosophy, and at times, political commentary is published monthly. Throughout its history, Znamia has been a pivotal venue for showcasing the works of preeminent authors such as Anna Akhmatova, Alexander Tvardovsky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Konstantin Paustovsky, Yuri Kazakov, and Yuri Trifonov. In the era of perestroika, beginning in 1986, Znamia underwent a significant transformation, evolving into one of Russia’s most widely read literary journals and serving as a herald of the perestroika movement. Read more: eastview.com/znamia

 

Nash Sovremennik Digital Archive (1933-2023)

Nash Sovremennik (Наш современник, Our Contemporary), a literary periodical of the Soviet and post-Soviet period, was published under the auspices of the RSFSR Union of Writers. Nash Sovremennik was a pioneer in finding talent from the Russian glubinka and remote provinces, providing these writers with an important literary platform unavailable elsewhere. As a result, the journal came to be associated with the so-called “village” or “provincial prose,” with some of its most important representatives being such writers as Fyodor Abramov, Viktor Astafyev, Vasily Belov, and Vasily Shukshin, among others. Since 1989, the journal has been led by Stanislav Kunyayev and has become an important literary and journalistic vehicle for Russian conservatives and traditionalists, attracting such political and literary figures as Gennadi Zyuganov, Nikolay Ryzhkov, Sergey Kara-Murza, Aleksandr Prokhanov, Zakhar Prilepin, and the controversial late Metropolital Ioann (Snychev). Read more: eastview.com/nash-sovremennik

 

COMING SOON!
  • Oktiabr (available in 2024)
  • Neva
  • IUnost
  • Moskva
  • Druzhba narodov
  • Ural
  • Novyi Mir

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