Gornyi Zhurnal in 1826–1828: The first three-years outcome

The article reviews the transactions of three solemn meetings of the Academic Committee on Mining and Salt in 1827, 1828 and 1829. The meetings summarized the annual performance of the editorial board and publishing house of Gornyi Zhurnal. The speeches of the Committee’s Chairman E. V. Karneev, the entry list change-over, the quantitative indicators of the editorial board performance, the expert activities of the Committee and the work of local mining communities are presented. Starting from the early years of its functioning, the Committee was considered by the higher mining administration as an academia called to pursue preparation and publication of Gornyi Zhurnal, and also to discuss scientific and technical issues of industrial advancement in mining. The variety and number of contributions and foreign-language translations from individual authors and mining communities, as well as the duty of expert appraisal of deliverables from the Mine Directorate conditioned a two-fold increase in the Committee’s members and correspondents represented by practitioners, experts, amateur theoreticians, skillful executives and industrialists in the field of mining. The information on the number of the meetings and discussed contributions distributed between the Journal sections is given, and the most valuable publications in the three reference years are presented. The expertise efforts of the Committee and its representation in the Journal, as well as the research implemented by the local mining communities established in the governmentowned districts and at the boards of directors of salt are described. It appeared that financial outcomes of the Journal’s editorial board were not as fruitful as its scientific effort. The number of subscribers somewhat reduced in three years, which led to a reduction in the yield compensated by an appropriation-in-aid granted to the Committee from the public treasury. Nevertheless, the performance of the Academic Committee was highly appreciated by both authorities and professionals who regarded Gornyi Zhurnal as a means of diffusion of scientific knowledge and a tool of communication with foreign scientific world.