Spoof or truth? The plucky local reporters who took on the tsar of Russia | Paul Chadwick

Readers suggest a tale of a 19th-century small-town newspaper standing in the path of 'despotic enemies' may not be apocryphal after all

A few columns ago I cited a story often told among journalists, for fun and to caution against self-importance, usually in vain. Variously attributed to small newspapers in remote locations at some time in the 19th century, an editorial discussing Russian foreign policy is said to have thundered: "We warn the Tsar!"

Related: The Last Czars: the historical drama that the whole of Russia is laughing at

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