ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Censorship in the Russian Empire

Okay kiddo, let me explain "censorship in the Russian Empire" to you like you're 5.

When grown-ups write books or make pictures or put on plays, sometimes they say things that the government doesn't like. Sometimes the government thinks these things might upset people or make them think bad thoughts. So they have a group of people called "censors" who look at everything before it's allowed to be shown to the public.

In the Russian Empire a long time ago, there were lots of different kinds of people with different ideas about how things should be done. Some thought the government was good and should be obeyed, while others wanted more freedom. The government didn't like the second group very much, and was worried that their ideas might spread and cause problems.

So they put in place very strict censorship laws. The censors would read books and plays and papers, and if they found anything that the government didn't like, they would say it wasn't allowed to be published or performed. Sometimes they even cut out parts they didn't like so nobody could read them.

This made it hard for people to share their ideas, because they knew they might get in trouble with the government. Some people were punished or sent to jail for saying things that were critical of the government. This meant that things like freedom of speech and expression weren't really possible in the Russian Empire at that time.

So, censorship in the Russian Empire was a way for the government to control what people saw and heard, and to try to make sure everyone thought the same way. But it also meant that people weren't free to express their own ideas, which is something many people might find a bit concerning.