Russian film censorship in 1898–1914

The article examines the origin and development of film censorship in Russia since the advent of cinema in the country and before the outbreak of the First World War. The first restrictions were imposed on the court chronicle. Since the mid-1900s, with the development of feature films and the rapid expansion of the cinema network, the issue of introducing film censorship was increasingly raised. Some steps in this direction have been taken, but mainly at the level of local authorities. As a result, by 1914 film censorship remained decentralized, and decisions on the rental of a particular film were usually made by police officers and local administration officials. A feature of film censorship in the period under study was the significant influence of "grassroots" initiatives: various committees, assemblies, political forces and moral zealots demanded that the state tighten control over the rental in order to protect children and the whole society from the "corrupting" influence of cinema. However, before the outbreak of the World War and the revolution, the government did not take practical steps to centralize film censorship.