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Information about Earthquakes in Russia at the Beginning of 19th Century in Periodicals

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Abstract

In this paper we attempt to determine the sources of original information on earthquakes among newspapers published in Russia in 1809–1819. It is revealed that the information presented in periodicals was not used to the full extent in compiling the main historical catalogs of earthquakes in Russia. Paradoxically, instead of the original reports from Russian newspapers, often greatly abridged and distorted information was cited from translated versions and European newspapers, as well as from descriptive catalogs of earthquakes compiled in Paris and London. It is shown that in Russia there were several communication channels for transmitting messages from distant localities to the center. Not all incoming information was published; some of it ended up in the archives, usually as reports to the authorities. Some information remained in personal correspondence. Therefore, research on historical seismicity cannot be limited to searching for information in newspapers.

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Notes

  1. V.G. Gnilovskoy (1907–1980) – a prominent local historian, teacher, founder of the Stavropol scientific geographical school.

  2. Anna Strelkova – author of six-volume handwritten memoirs “The Story of My Life: 1790–1850s.” The manuscript is kept in the Research Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library, Moscow.

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Funding

This work was supported by the State Task of the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123995, Moscow, Russia

    N. G. Mokrushina & R. E. Tatevossian

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  1. N. G. Mokrushina
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  2. R. E. Tatevossian
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Correspondence to N. G. Mokrushina or R. E. Tatevossian.

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Translated by A. Ivanov

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Mokrushina, N.G., Tatevossian, R.E. Information about Earthquakes in Russia at the Beginning of 19th Century in Periodicals. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 59, 780–804 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433823070046

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