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In this paper we attempt to determine the sources of original information on earthquakes among newspapers published in Russia in 1809–1819. It is revealed that the information presented in periodicals was not used to the full extent in compiling the main historical catalogs of earthquakes in Russia. Paradoxically, instead of the original reports from Russian newspapers, often greatly abridged and distorted information was cited from translated versions and European newspapers, as well as from descriptive catalogs of earthquakes compiled in Paris and London. It is shown that in Russia there were several communication channels for transmitting messages from distant localities to the center. Not all incoming information was published; some of it ended up in the archives, usually as reports to the authorities. Some information remained in personal correspondence. Therefore, research on historical seismicity cannot be limited to searching for information in newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the earthquake in Altai in 1887 is supplemented by information from the Kavkaz newspaper (The Caucasus) published in Tiflis (Tbilisi). It is concluded that it is necessary to carry out systematic work to search for sources of information while organizing research based on the history of the regional and central press and developing archival and library science; episodic surveys from project to project, limited only to sources in the study area, create the risk of missing the original macroseismiс information. New data and the use of a strictly formalized procedure for determining the position of the epicenter have led to a revision of the previous decision of the earthquake on January 2/14, 1887. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]