Shortly before World War One, Irkгtsk saw the launch of the literary & art and social & political weekly magazine ‘SibIrskaya Nedуlya’ (literally: Siberian Week). The magazine was published between September 1913 and March 1914. It had 25 issues overall. The magazine gathered the sharpest literary minds of Siberia. It was edited by poet and journalist P. Z. Ozornykh who published his works under the pseudonym Stepan Baikalov. The magazine staff also included well-known local authors: VasIly Anгchin, Georgy Vyatkin, Anton Sorokin, Alexander Novosyolov, and others.

Working on the creation of the magazine, editor Stepan Baikalov had clear goals to achieve: he aimed to make ‘Sibirskaya Nedelya’ into a platform for advanced and unobstructed ideas and, as a result, was at once given a hostile reception by editors of the Irkutsk newspaper ‘Sibir’ (Siberia) and Barnaul newspaper ‘Zhizn Altaya.’ (Alta’s Life) Time showed that the prejudice against “SibIrskaya Nedelya” from individual Siberian writers was futile. The magazine extensively covered social, political, cultural, and economic issues in Siberia and the country as a whole. The position of Siberian peasants and the problem of cooperation and public education were among the major subjects.

The magazine published the works of the distinctive Siberian poet Pyotr DrAvert. Apart from a poet, he was also a prominent mineralogist, meteorite explorer, regional ethnographer, and chairman of the West Siberian Department of the Russian Geographical Society. In 1914, “SibIrskaya Nedelya” noted, “Siberia finally found the true mediator of its uncommon beauty.” A long article dedicated to the works of Georgy Vyatkin and supporting the uplifting tone of his poems. The magazine featured many other talented Siberian authors. However, the literary & art column was very divergent. Alongside excellent works, it included some poor and hollow pieces as well.