I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 105 Magazine Bias and Assistance

In the two or three days since the latest issue of "The Contemporary" magazine went on sale, perhaps because Belinsky and his colleagues had become more composed, no one dragged Mikhail out of bed to check on the sales figures.

Of course, although Nekrasov and Belinsky did not take Mikhail on a field trip, the release of the new issue of the magazine was still a very important day for them. After all, once the latest issue of the magazine is sold, readers will gradually give their feedback, and the magazine will adjust its future article selection based on the readers' reactions.

However, this can only be taken into consideration to a certain extent. Criticisms such as "offensive to public morals," "concepts that violate tradition," or "not devout enough to God" are generally not adopted by *The Modern Man* magazine. After all, although the founders, Mikhail, Nekrasov, and Panayev, did not give a clear definition in the early days of the magazine, one thing seemed to be beyond doubt: *The Modern Man* should be a progressive magazine.

Magazines and newspapers, as the most important way to exert influence on a wide readership, often do so subtly through novels and reviews, sometimes even directly igniting certain emotions and completely swaying some readers to their side.

This can actually be seen from the style of various newspapers and magazines in St. Petersburg today. Some magazines may have a more patriotic bias, so many of their articles are about how great Russia is, how Russia is superior to the old France and the old Britain in some aspects, and what great achievements our great Tsar has made!

Such magazines and newspapers had become quite common these days, including in Russia, and the nobles were happy with them, not rejecting them and even liking their existence.

After all, besides His Majesty the Tsar, these generals and officials who worked diligently for the empire also had the opportunity to appear.

Another well-known example related to this is the saying: "Even the poorest patriot in East London would involuntarily straighten his chest at the thought of Britain's industry and wealth."

So where did these people get their information from? Of course, it came from the various news articles published in certain British newspapers during this period.

As information exchange becomes increasingly convenient, guiding and controlling various types of information is gradually becoming a mandatory course for authorities in various countries.

Other newspapers and magazines have a more flexible stance, focusing on publishing whatever articles are beneficial and profitable, as long as they do not violate principles.

One widely circulated but dubious example is that in 1815, after Napoleon fled Elba, he personally led 700 soldiers back to France.

So a Parisian newspaper published the following six news items in succession: "The monster from Corsica has landed at the port of Juan"; "The unspeakable cannibal is approaching Grasse"; "The despicable and shameless thief of state has entered Grenoble"; "Napoleon Bonaparte has occupied Lyon"; "General Napoleon is approaching Fontainebleau"; "His Majesty the Supreme Emperor has arrived in his loyal Paris".

In addition, there are publications that introduce food and fashion, those that specialize in satirical jokes, and those that introduce philosophy and economics.
As for so-called progressive magazines like those of Mikhail, besides being easily subject to the iron fist of censorship, their more progressive, or rather, rebellious, aspect lies in their willingness to publish so-called sensitive articles. For example, Belinsky often discussed social inequality and the drawbacks of serfdom in his commentaries, and the novels published in the magazine were more or less inconsistent with the current mainstream, but rather attempted to explore deeper into Russian society.

Some of the bolder ones directly criticized the government and related policies.

In this sense, being the owner of this magazine is a very risky business. In addition to the pressure from the authorities, there is also the possibility of being maliciously reported by competitors, which could lead to problems in the magazine's operation or even affect the owner himself.

To be fair, although the Modern Man magazine has three owners in a strict sense, Mikhail is the one who appears in public the least and does the least work. Moreover, Mikhail has always tried to minimize his presence, since he really hasn't done anything. But for some reason, when people mention the Modern Man magazine, they always think of Mikhail.

When Mikhail is mentioned, people occasionally tell stories about him, such as how he started with 20 rubles per article, and how he amassed a huge fortune in just six months.
Wow, can you really get so deeply involved with this magazine without doing anything?

However, there's no need to say more now. Mikhail is like someone who's not afraid of being bitten by lice when there's already a big case hanging over his head, so this little worry is nothing.

Moreover, if we're really talking about ideological leanings, he might even be more radical than the radical Belinsky.

In short, the day after the latest issue was released, while Nekrasov and Belinsky were busy at the magazine office, coming up with new ideas one after another, Mikhail was still fast asleep at home, sleeping until almost noon.

When Mikhail woke up comfortably in his own bed, looking at the much more spacious ceiling, he felt happy and immediately began to think about which restaurant to go to for dinner that day.

Mikhail has some money now, but he doesn't really have many bad habits. His biggest luxury in a day is simply going to a restaurant for a meal.

Such extravagance is likely to come to an end, since eating out every day is not a solution. If he doesn't have time to do it himself, following the advice of Mikhail's friends, he should hire a cook and a maid.

After thinking about it for a while, Mikhail agreed. Although he could handle many things himself at the moment, as he met more and more people, he would definitely not be able to manage everything by himself.

If he were to hire someone, the compensation would certainly be good, and the work wouldn't be too strenuous.

So after thinking it through, Mikhail's requirements for the cook were basically that she could cook reasonably well. The requirements for the maid were much simpler; basically, anyone would do, but it would be best if she came from a very poor family and desperately needed a job to make a living.

Families like the latter are countless in Russia today. Even in St. Petersburg, the capital city under the Tsar's rule, there are many ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.

Thinking of this, Mikhail couldn't help but recall the clever kid he had often encountered before, who had been camping out in the jungle position in front of the apartment for quite some time.

But when Mikhail instinctively took out some money again, the other person shook his head somewhat shyly, then said a few words in a trembling voice, roughly meaning that life had taken a turn for the better and things shouldn't be like this anymore, and then thanked him again.

This is certainly a good thing. In this day and age, being a beggar is risky. If you stay in a place for a long time and disturb public order, you may be forcibly taken in or even exiled to Siberia. Furthermore, during the reign of Nicholas I, beggars were forced to participate in railway construction. Although they were provided with basic living conditions, the labor intensity was extremely high and they had no freedom. Later, during the Crimean War, the able-bodied young men among the beggars were forcibly conscripted into the army or assigned to labor camps.

It can only be said that the men are kind-hearted and can't bear to see beggars without even a job.

Let's see. Mikhail's friends are already inquiring about what kind of people they can recruit.

After briefly considering these matters, Mikhail quickly changed his clothes, washed up, and then went out to head towards a restaurant.

On the day of release, because he was a little worried that someone might do something drastic like "I'll kill you!", Mikhail did not go to check out the place where he was most likely to hear such news. But now, Mikhail thinks he should go.

So, in the same place, at a different time, in the same familiar coffee shop, perhaps because the hype hadn't died down yet, Mikhail could still see people holding "The Modern Man" and discussing something with others.

In fact, the hype hasn't died down; some people have only just gotten their hands on it. After all, with that serialized novel as a foundation, the newly revamped magazine "Modern People" has attracted even more attention.

Besides the increase in subscribers, more people are coming to the bookstore to buy the magazine out of curiosity and because of its reputation. However, this time, in addition to discussions about the novel, many people are also reflecting on and questioning the magazine's biases:

"Is the 'I' in this novel actually Mikhail himself? Did he also suffer from the pain of love? He was such a pitiful person."

Mikhail: “.”

Before, even if I wanted to eat it, there was nowhere to eat it.
It's a bit hard to say right now.

"The changes in Natasha in the story are truly unexpected. She not only hurt the writer she grew up with, but also her own father. How could she go to such lengths, even for love? And yet, she was fully aware of all the consequences."

"The development was quite unexpected, but it did pique my curiosity. Why did it always stop at the part I wanted to continue watching? Just thinking about it makes me furious."

"Looking at it this way, I don't think the Duke's son is any better. Although he is described in a very naive way, I always feel that he has the same qualities as the Duke."

"Speaking of which, I'm increasingly noticing something: this magazine's bias seems quite unusual. First, starting with this novel, its impression of the aristocracy seems very negative, even appalling. Second, the other novels in this magazine seem quite different from those I've read before; their attitude towards certain issues seems a bit off."

"You think so too? It is indeed unusual, but both the novel and the reviews have given me a lot of new insights. The story is also quite exciting, much better than those vulgar and boring magazines in St. Petersburg these days. No wonder it attracted so much attention as soon as it appeared."

"Yes, I like this kind of expression. It's rare to see this kind of spirit in our Russian magazines. But is it okay to write like this? The censors also think there's no problem with this kind of article?"

"I was just thinking about it too. Some sentences really surprised me. How come the censors didn't delete them? Could it be that the censorship system has been quietly relaxed a bit without our knowledge?"

Similar comments reached Mikhail's ears intermittently. As for the issue of censorship, Mikhail could only say that this was the power of protection money and being kept by a sugar daddy!
The "protection fee" refers to hiring a censor to act as a nominal editor, while the "soft rice" refers to benefiting from the general's influence through Nadya, which allowed her to relax her standards in this regard.

After finishing his meal in silence, Mikhail left with a touch of melancholy about "what our magazine will become" and headed towards the offices of "Modern Man".

The magazine is usually busiest when the latest issue is released. Since things aren't too hectic, Mikhail still needs to check the magazine to see if there's any work he needs to handle.

As soon as Mikhail entered the editorial office of the magazine "Modern Man", someone immediately spotted him and shouted, "Mr. Mikhail has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the previously busy editorial department seemed to pause for a moment. Perhaps because Mikhail was not often seen, the editors quickly looked over with some excitement. This excitement did not seem to be because Mikhail was the boss of "Modern Man," but for some other reason.

Upon seeing this, someone immediately greeted him warmly, saying, "Mr. Mikhail, quite a few readers have written to you again! I never expected them to be so quick. By the way, why wasn't your poem, which you wrote so casually, published in this issue of the magazine?"

"Yes! Now half of the cultural circle in St. Petersburg knows how you wrote that poem! If it can be published, it will probably bring a lot of new subscribers to our magazine. Of course, the long piece you published in this issue has already achieved that."

"Would you like some tea? Or is there something else you need? We can get it for you right away!"

Mikhail: “.”

Thankfully, they only greeted me. If you had stood up and applauded as soon as I came in, I might have been hesitant to enter the room.

After smiling and responding to everyone, Mikhail said, "I've come to see what work I can do."

“Mr. Mikhail, not yet.”

As soon as Mikhail spoke, someone immediately replied without hesitation: "You can leave these tasks to us for now. Your Excellency Vesalion and Mr. Nicolas said you have more important things to do, and unless something major happens, they will not disturb you!"

Mikhail: “?”

(End of this chapter)