Abstract: The subject of the research is the materials of articles of the journal "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade" for 1917 – the leading printing body of the Ministry of Finance. The methodological basis of the article was a computerized content analysis, which made it possible to fully reveal the information potential of the source. Special attention is paid to the construction of a representative system of semantic categories and indicators based on the frequency dictionary, which revealed thematic priorities and semantic accents in the entire array of issues of the "Bulletin ..." in the specified year. The analysis of the frequency of occurrence of the created categories (including joint ones) in dynamics by quarters is carried out. The interrelationships of the categories make possible conclusions based on the argumentation of the authors of the journal articles.   The materials of Vestnik ... have previously attracted the attention of scientists, but only now, with the help of computerized content analysis, a hidden layer of information contained in it has been introduced into scientific circulation, which is the scientific novelty of the work. The content analysis showed that the journal "Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade" reflected the situation and processes in the socio-political sphere in the country and abroad that developed in the economy at the turning point of 1917, unfolding against the background of the ongoing First World War. The main core of the constructed system of semantic categories turned out to be financial issues in close connection with the industrial, trade and tax spheres, as well as problems caused by the war and growing in the economy and society.

Abstract: This article conducts historiographical and quantitative analysis of the prime economic media in the Russian Empire of the late XIX – early XX centuries – “Journal of Finance, Industry and Trade”. The journal was issued from 1885 to 1917 being the official publication of the Ministry of Finance. The materials published in the journal contain reference and analytical information. High quality of the analytical articles was ensured by competent authors – prominent national economists of that time. The goal consists in studying the dynamics of reflection of complex economic processes that unfolded in the prewar 1913 in the journal. Characteristic is given to the composition of the team of authors in 1913. Quantitative analysis of the content of all 52 issues is conducted for the first time in accordance with the dynamics of quarterly distribution of the topics of analytical publications. The author suggests possible interpretations of changes in thematic specialty of the journal throughout the year, and formulates a hypothesis on correlation between these changes and the dynamics of industrial stock index developed by L. Borodkin and G. Perelman by analogy with the famous Dow Jones Industrial Average. Decline in journal’s interest to the industrial problems is noticed until the fourth quarter of 1913; then the favorable conjuncture on the oil market explains the frequency of occurrence of the category of “industry” due to the articles dedicated to oil industry.

Abstract: This study is dedicated to a source study analysis of the materials from the journal of the Russian Ministry of Finance: "the Vestnik of Finance, Industry and Trade". This journal is one of the main sources on a wide range of topics concerning the economic history of Russia in the period between 1883 - 1917. The materials published in "the Vestnik..." are characterized by a high level of analytics, due to its authors being prominent Russian economists of their time. The aim of this study is to examine the dynamics of the complex economic processes that took place in the revolutionary year of 1917 as reflected in the pages of the named journal. This article applies the methods of quantitative analysis to journal publications. In structuring the subject matter of the articles and messages, the journal's headings from the quarterly "Systematic Lists" are used, as well as the bibliographic database developed at the Novosibirsk State University. The author's quantitative analysis of the evolution of the topics raised in the journal demonstrates the value of "the Vestnik ..." as one of the most interesting sources in the study of the economic processes that took place in 1917. This article shows that the calculation of the distribution of the subject matter in analytical publications (articles and messages, without ads, announcements and statistical material) in general and by quarters provides the most reliable estimates of the structure and dynamics of the coverage of economic processes in the examined journal.