Considered by many to be Russia's oldest newspaper, Sankt-Peterburgskiia Vedomosti was the continuation of Vedomosti o voennykh i inykh delakh, established by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. From its founding in 1728 through 1851, Sankt-Peterburgskiia Vedomosti was published by the Academy of Sciences. During the mid-nineteenth century, the paper was leased to individual editors, but its increasingly liberal tone offended officialdom, and in 1875, control of the paper was transferred directly to the Ministry of Education. The daily was suppressed by the new Soviet government within days of their coup in October 1917. The similarly-named newspaper published since 1991, Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, has no formal link with the pre-revolutionary paper.

Sankt-Peterburgskiia Vedomosti is a valuable source for the study of Russia's eighteenth century. Under the editorship of such men as Mikhail Lomonosov and Gerhardt-Friedrich Muller, the paper's coverage was diverse, ranging from domestic and foreign affairs, science, art, industry, and other fields. During the period of Alexander II's Great Reforms, the daily was leased to an editor of pronounced liberal views, Evgenii Korshe, and it became one of the more prominent fora for progressive thought in the empire. Although its importance declined when Sankt-Peterburgskiia Vedomosti reverted to government control, during its last two decades, when it was edited by the Orientalist Prince Esper Ukhtomskii, it gave extensive coverage to Russian involvement in Asia.

Scholars can consult the microfilm of the newspaper in the Microtext Reading Room, which is in the basement of Sterling Memorial Library.

Sterling Library's hours of operation
LOCATION: SML, Microform (Non-Circulating)
CALL NUMBER: Film An S56