Vilnius Civic Life in an Imperial and European Context: The Perspective of the Weekly Tygodnik Petersburski (1830–1858)

Abstract

The article presents the outcomes of a quantitative and content analysis of the articles on civic associations in a Polish weekly Tygodnik Petersburski. The depiction of Vilnius civic life in the weekly gives very different pictures of the Polish-Lithuanian lands in the context of the world depending on the kind of civic activities in focus. While the depiction of Vilnius civic charity and scientific activities shows self-confidence in the local traditions, the coverage of the Lithuanian civic non-involvement in the nineteenth-century projects of economic modernization reflects anxiety. None of them would leave the readers conservatively content with the status quo. Among foreign political associations, particular attention was dedicated to English and British civic activities. Even though the newspaper did not manipulate its readers to any political conclusion, the intensive gaze on British-Irish relations may be seen as an attempt to guide political action. Relying on the results of the analysis, the article discusses to which extent it is right to consider the newspaper as conservative and loyalist.