''Iskra'' (, Spark) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

satirical weekly published in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1859–1873. The magazine, founded by the

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Abril Lamarque (1904–1999) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfre ...

Nikolai Stepanov and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Vasily Kurochkin Vasily Stepanovich Kurochkin (; 9 August 1831 – 27 August 1875) was a Russian satirical poet, journalist and translator. Biography Vasily Kurochkin was born in Saint Petersburg. His father, a former serf peasant who had been granted freedom and ...

was a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

publication, targeting social inequality and the

Tsarism Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

. Yet, in its heyday it attracted a host of famous authors from diverse literary factions, including Alexey K. Tolstoy, Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov,

Alexey Pleshcheyev Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (; 8 October 1893) was a radical Russian poetry, Russian poet of the 19th century, once a member of the Petrashevsky Circle. Pleshcheyev's first book of poetry, published in 1846, made him famous: "Step forward! ...

Lev Mei Lev Aleksandrovich Mei or Mey (; ) was a Russian dramatist and poet. Biography Mei was born on 13/25 February 1822, in Moscow. His father was a German officer who was wounded in the Battle of Borodino and died young. His mother was Russian. Mei c ...

, Viktor Burenin,

Liodor Palmin Liodor (Iliodor) Ivanovich Palmin (; May 27 (May 15), 1841 in Yaroslavl, Yaroslavskaya gubernia, Russian Empire – November 7 (October 26), 1891 in Moscow, Russian Empire) was a Russian poetry, Russian poet, translator and journalist. Biography ...

, Vladimir Shchiglev,

Gleb Gleb (; ) or Hlib (, ) is a Slavic male given name derived from the Old Norse name ''Guðleifr'', which means "heir of god." According to another version, the name Gleb comes from the name Olaf. It is popular in Russia due to an early martyr, Saint ...

and

Nikolai Uspensky Nikolai Vasilyevich Uspensky (; 31 May 1837 – 2 November 1889) was a Russian writer, and a cousin of fellow writer Gleb Uspensky. Uspensky wrote extensively about the realities of peasant life in rural Russia around the time of the Emancipat ...

Alexander Levitov Alexander Ivanovich Levitov (; August 1, 1835 – January 16, 1877), was a Russian writer. Biography Levitov was born in the village of Dobroye, in Tambov Governorate, where his father was a sexton. He learned to read and write in a school ...

, Pavel Yakushkin, Fyodor Reshetnikov, Grigory Eliseev. ''Iskra'' became famous for its caricatures, made by the best Russian artists of the time, among them Nikolai Stepanov,

Mikhail Mikeshin Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin (; 9 February 1835 – 19 January 1896) was a Russian artist who regularly worked for the Romanov family and designed a number of outdoor statues in the major cities of the Russian Empire. Biography Mikeshin was born ...

, Mikhail Znamensky. Throughout its history ''Iskra'' suffered from severe censorship, and in 1865 was forced to part with Vasily Kurochkin. It was finally closed in 1873.Iskra
at the Soviet Literary Encyclopedia in 11 volumes,1929—1939

References

1859 establishments in the Russian Empire 1873 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Russia Magazines established in 1859 Magazines disestablished in 1873 Magazines published in Saint Petersburg Literary magazines published in Russia Defunct Russian-language magazines Satirical magazines published in Russia Defunct socialist magazines Weekly magazines published in Russia Russian political satire {{poli-mag-stub