The most notable development in Russian literary journalism between 1880 and 1917 was easily the emergence of an alternate vision of the function and form of the genre itself. In 1880 the concept of the “thick journal” was still intact and its social role unquestioned. The word “literary” in a journal's subtitle merely signalled inclusion of poetry, fiction, and reviews. But long before 1917 the catalogue included periodicals devoted entirely to exemplifying and propagating advanced notions of art. Yet before an entire journal (even of the slim variety) given solely to literary and aesthetic matters could appear, several changes had to take place. The view, widespread since Belinsky's day, that social and literary criticism were one and the same had to be successfully challenged. A new conception of literature had to gain currency, and a new kind of writing had to emerge. The inception of these changes between 1880 and 1900 constituted the initial step in the Russian modernist revolution.

The appellation “transitional” for the eighties is nowhere better applied than to its major journals. The Messenger of Europe (Vestnik Evropy), founded in 1866, took up the title and to a degree the mission of Karamzin's journal of acquainting Russian readers with European culture. Yet in the 1880s its role was still in the process of definition. Eventually the Moscow monthly Russian Thought (Russkaia mysl') rivalled The Messenger of Europe in influence and longevity. Established in 1880, Russian Thought benefited from the closing in 1884 of Fatherland Notes (Otechestvennye zapiski), the major figures of which dispersed among other journals of relatively liberal persuasion.