Between crisis and expansion: departmental scientific periodicals (1917–1941)

The article examines a seemingly paradoxical situation that emerged in the Soviet periodical press during the pre-war decades (1917–1941). While the mass press faced a severe crisis—driven by shortages of materials and equipment (paper, printing ink, typefaces, etc.), staffing difficulties, and a shift to a commercial footing that led to the closure of publications and reduced print runs—there was simultaneously active growth in departmental (sector-specific) periodicals (both regulatory and scientific). The article explores the impact of state initiatives on these processes, such as the creation of a network of research institutes, the transfer of higher education institutions to the jurisdiction of People's Commissariats, and decrees issued in the late 1920s. Particular attention is paid to the development trends of periodicals focused on water resource management, as well as an analysis of the 1926 decree by the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) and its actual ineffectiveness in curbing the proliferation of departmental publications.