The origins of the Polish folk press in the Russian partition

Research on the press aimed at rural communities since the 19th century is an introduction to capturing the changes in the publishing and reading market from the moment the first magazines were created until the systemic transformation. The folk press in the Russian partition is discussed, which initially was primarily intended to reduce illiteracy in rural areas. A comparison of individual titles, in terms of content, audience groups and editorial staff, created in the first periodicals and the professional press aimed at the people, allowed us to indicate the functions that the industry-specific (agricultural) press fulfilled in the discussed period and partition. The activity of the press for rural communities from the 19th century until the period of World War I was diverse. The magazines were dominated primarily by educational, social and religious content. The fight to maintain Polishness in the three partitions, although different due to dependence on the government administration, focused on disseminating knowledge about the history of Poland and learning the native language.