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Abstract:

The article continues the history of the development of the publishing house “Znanie,” which ended in 1913 with its closure. The author of the article traces the fate of the famous literary collections “Znanie,” published under the editorship of A.M. Gorky from 1904 to 1912, which were very intense and in demand. The money received for them was partially transferred to the party fund. Published since 1906 at the insistence of Gorky, who in turn was asked by the Bolsheviks, the Marxist books in the department of party literature in the “Deshevaia biblioteka” series turned out to be unclaimed. Tsarist censorship tightened after the defeat of the revolution. They and the collections “Znanie” were often seized, some issues were confiscated. This was the beginning of the financial collapse of the publishing house. The unanimity of the writer and editor Gorky with the experienced publisher Pyatnitsky gave way to sharp disagreements. Incited by V.I. Lenin, Gorky began to demand financial reports, and insisted on an arbitration court. However, no violations were found and the trial did not take place. One of the main reasons for the ruin and closure of the once successful publishing house was the fact that it financed the activities of the Bolshevik Party.