Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov ( - ) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n writer and philanthropist

Philanthropy

Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

 most representative of his country's Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

. Frequently considered to be the first Russian journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, he aimed at advancing the cultural and educational level of the Russian public.

Novikov belonged to the first generation of Russians that benefited from the creation of the Moscow University in 1755. He took an active part in the Legislative Assembly

Nakaz

Nakaz, or Instruction, of Catherine the Great was a statement of legal principles authored by Catherine II of Russia, and permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment. It was compiled as a guide for the All-Russian Legislative Commission convened in 1767 for the purpose of replacing the...

 of 1767, which sought to produce a new code of laws. Inspired by this kind of freethinking activity, he took over editing the Moscow Gazette and launched satirical journals

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

, patterned after The Tatler and The Spectator

The Spectator

The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

. His attacks on the existing social customs prompted jocund retorts from Catherine the Great, who even set her own journal called Vsyakaya vsyachina

Vsyakaya vsyachina

Vsyakaya vsyachina was a Russian weekly magazine, established in 1769.In 1770, there were 18 issues of the magazine entitled Барышек всякия всячины . Empress Catherine II was a private editor-in-chief of the magazine. Vsyakaya vsyachina ridiculed the morals and manners of the Russian gentry and...

to comment on Novikov's articles.

Together with Johann Georg Schwartz, Ivan Vladimirovich Lopukhin

Ivan Vladimirovich Lopukhin

Ivan 'Jean' Vladimirovich Lopukhin was a Russian philosopher, mystic, writer and humanitarian....

, and Semion Ivanovich Gamaleya he brought martinism

Martinism

Martinism is a form of mystical and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration' or illumination....

 and rosicrucianism to Russia. By the 1780s, Novikov rose to the highest positions in Russian Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

, which liberally funded his ambitious book-publishing ventures. Novikov's press produced a third part of contemporary Russian books and several newspapers. Novikov used his influence for various noble purposes, such as a large-scale project of promoting Shakespeare to Russian public.

When the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 started, Catherine changed her attitude towards the likes of Novikov. His printing-house was confiscated. Three years later, without a formal trial, he was incarcerated in the Shlisselburg

Shlisselburg

Shlisselburg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga, east of St. Petersburg. From 1944 to 1992, it was known as Petrokrepost...

 Fortress for 15 years. Much of his printed material was pulped, including 1,000 copies of Edward Young

Edward Young

Edward Young was an English poet, best remembered for Night Thoughts.-Early life:He was the son of Edward Young, later Dean of Salisbury, and was born at his father's rectory at Upham, near Winchester, where he was baptized on 3 July 1683. He was educated at Winchester College, and matriculated...

's The Last Day (1713). Emperor Paul set Novikov free, but the latter was too scared and broken-hearted to resume his journalistic activities.