Abstract
During the empire, the main purpose of surveillance was to find out what the majority thinks, supports, and keep the people under control. In other words, to influence the people and completely own their minds. Therefore, whether in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union or in the Russian Empire the main goal of surveillance and collection of information about public opinion was the transformation of the masses. Censorship considered surveillance mechanisms in the Russian Empire, were carried out with the help of employees of postal and telegraph institutions. There were no perlustration centers in the Semirechensk region. At the end of the XIX and beginning of the XX centuries, the Semirechensk region received correspondence and parcels from all territories of the Russian Empire and from abroad. Employees of the local administration, special institutions and postal and telegraph institutions controlled correspondence according to the established mechanism. The purpose of this article is to determine the activities and features of postal and telegraph institutions (late XIX - early XX centuries) for the implementation of censorship in the Semirechensk region. The history of perlustration in the Russian Empire, the introduction of perlustration in the Semirechensk region, as well as the problems of monitoring individuals in the empire during the period under review are comprehensively examined.