Patriots and critics: the story of how the public perception of the events of the First World War in the Russian Empire changed

It is clear that from the soldiers' point of view this agitation had a rational explanation, since they, as direct combatants, experienced the basic horrors of war, the difficult living conditions at the front and the futility of hostilities that killed thousands of people.

In fact, 1916 was a decisive year for the Russian Empire. The economic crisis and unsuccessful hostilities led to an increase of number of workers' protests. In that year, about 951 000 people participated in strikes and protests all over the empire. In addition, peasant protests intensified, while patriotic mood in the army weakened and even disappeared in some places. The end of the year was marked by a radical turn in the mass psychology and mood of a large part of the population, workers, peasants and soldiers, the essence of which was the spontaneous growth of the desire for peace (Zolotarev, 2014, p. 461).

In February of 1917, the governor of Kyiv noted in one of his circulars, addressed to the peace agents and chiefs of the local police, that number of parcels, sent from Russia to prisoners of war in Germany and Austria-Hungary, in which the border gendarmerie revealed negative messages, had increased. The author emphasized the difficult situation in the empire, the general cost of living, high prices for basic necessities, people's dissatisfaction and various kinds of unrest, and also noted the growing desire for peace in society (SAKO, f. 1716, d. 1, c. 16, p. 17).

As a result, during World War I, significant transformations took place in the national consciousness of the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainians became more politically active and tried to counteract the Russian propaganda illegally. An important place in this context was given to students. At the end of November - the beginning of December of 1914, a special, illegal Information Bureau of Kyiv Ukrainian Students (IBKUS) was organized at the Imperial University of St. Vladimir in Kyiv. It consisted of young people who didn't want to put up with the aggressive actions of the Russian government on the occupied territories of Eastern Galicia and Northern Bukovyna and its chauvinistic policy towards the Ukrainians. In attempt to prevent the Russian domination and propaganda, the IBKUS started an active anti-Russian and anti-autocratic information policy.

On December 17, 1914, the Department of Military Censorship at Kyiv Military District Headquarters sent a message to the local Governorate Gendarmerie Administration chief, stating the need for appropriate orders to counteract such agitation. The document was accompanied by a sample of the leaflet of Information Bureau, dated December 2, which was disseminate to students. It referred to the cruelty of imperial power policy and called for a boycott of fundraising for the benefit of the “Russian” population of Galicia: “Comrades! Another prisoner appeared in the “Great Prison of Nations”. Galicia became a military prey of Russia, crushed, devastated, national culture of the population is destroyed... Thousands of best Galician Ukrainian intellectuals have been deported to Siberia. ...December 16 is a day of assistance to the “Russian population of Galicia”. Don't give money to the black hundred... Ukrainian students are appealing to you, comrades, to boycott the day of “crocodile tears” (CSHAUK, f. 274, d. 4, c. 325, pp. 56, 57).

Soon, another leaflet with the following content was published: “The Russian government will bring Galicia absolute economic ruin, spiritual oppression and violence against national consciousness. Comrades! Neither of us will go out to raise money on 16th of December! We won't give even a coin!” (CSHAUK, f. 274, d. 4, c. 325, p. 59). Such materials completely discredited the actions of the government in the eyes of society and became a threat of the formation of anti-Russian and anti-government positions among the population. Responding to this situation, on December 20, 1914, the Police Department, in a message to the Chief of the Kyiv Governorate Gendarmerie Administration, required to present evidence about the compilers and distributors of these leaflets. On February 11, 1915, Colonel A. Shredel stated in his reply that the local gendarmerie had failed to find any information about the authors (CSHAUK, f. 274, d. 4, c. 325, pp. 58, 60). This testifies to the fact that the activities of the police to identify “untrustworthy” people, who were engaged in “hostile” agitation, didn't always have a success.

During the entire period of the war, the IBKUS carried out active information activities against the Russian autocracy. On February 24, 1916, in connection with the anniversary of the death of the Ukrainian poet T. Shevchenko, the Information Bureau issued and circulated propaganda proclamations in Kyiv with the following content: “Comrades! the 26th of February is anniversary of T. Shevchenko's death. Let us add our voice to the all- democratic space against slavery, captivity and oppression. We protest against the oppression of our word, against total disregard for our rights and interests. ...we will boldly say: “Laugh, fierce enemy / but not too much”. Comrades, let us dedicate the day of February of 26 to the memory of a person, who has spent all his life and all his power to fight for the better fate for his people.” (CSHAUK, f. 274, d. 4, c. 548, p. 119).

Similar calls received positive feedback from Ukrainian youth. On the 26th of February there was a demonstration speech of students of Kyiv Imperial University and cadets of higher women's courses. The youth intended to sing a song for the eternal memory of the poet near the Vladimir cathedral, but the police prevented such action. Two people were arrested and other participants (201 people) were fined. It is worth noting that not only ethnic Ukrainians but also representatives of other nationalities took part in the demonstration: 21 Caucasians, 58 Jews (CSHAUK, f. 274, d. 4, c. 548, p. 109). So, students, as a politically- conscious category of the population, tried to show their own national position and counteract imperial chauvinism.

It should be noted that the establishment of close contacts between the Ukrainians of the Dnieper Ukraine and Eastern Galicia, which were long divided between empires, had a significant influence on the growth of national consciousness. This happened because of:

1) the increasing of number of the Ukrainian prisoners of war, who fought on the side of Austria-Hungary and, after the capture, traveled to Kyiv, as it was the focal point of the entire Southwestern Front of the Russian Empire; 2) the growth of civilian Galician emigrants; 3) and the disposition of the Russian army on the occupied territories of Eastern Galicia and Bukovyna. On this occasion Mykola Kowalewskyi mentioned: “The presence of the Russian army in Galicia and Bukovyna had a huge impact on the growth of the Ukrainian consciousness among those soldiers and officers, who only spontaneously felt that they were the Ukrainians, but were not able to form these feelings and elevate them to the level of national consciousness. While staying in Galicia and Bukovyna, they came in contact with a population that showed a fairly high level of national consciousness, and it made many of them conscious Ukrainians.” (Kowalewskyi, 1960, p. 194).

The Conclusions

Therefore, the initial stage of the war was marked by widespread patriotism, which, despite of its “mass” nature, had a differentiated, ambivalent and permanent character during the period of 1914 - 1917. The majority of “ardent” patriots were wealthy people who, through their privileged and financial position avoided military service and practically didn't participate in the hostilities, or representatives of ultra-monarchical circles. For some people the war was a way of showing their loyalty to the government, but for the others it was an opportunity to make money and enrich themselves. Other groups of the population were overwhelmed by a sense of patriotism and liberation struggle, though the main reason for this was not the love for the “great tsarist Motherland”, but understanding of the need to protect their “small homeland”. This tendency was peculiar to the peasant environment, whose outlook, because of informational isolation, archaic thinking, stereotyping, low education and poverty, had a local and limited character. Fear for family, home, household, and that the enemy could destroy everything, was a powerful and stimulating factor to volunteer to fight in the front or join the rear.

A similar vision and perception of the war was typical for the soldiers' environment, as it was based on village natives. In the early years of the war, the behavior of soldiers was determined by the humble, patient, and self-righteous fulfillment of their military duty. Patriotic state and stable psychological atmosphere prevailed in the army and at the front due to active information propaganda, functioning of the institute of military censorship and activities of the clergy.

A large number of soldiers believed in the liberation nature of the war and the rapid victory of the Russian Empire. It should be noted that the Russian army conducted military operations mainly on its territory, which formed in the public consciousness the perception of war as defensive and fair.

Delaying the timing of the war, defeats at the front, increasing of the number of victims, growing economic crisis triggered a process of destabilization inside the country. Distrust and dissatisfaction were spreading in society. Rumors about treason in the upper echelons of government, spies and German domination spread among the population. One of the main consequences of the war was the growing criticism of the emperor's personality and his role in the life of the country, which led to the gradual destruction of the sacred image of the monarch in the public consciousness. Negative trends began to show up in the army, in particular, a decline of patriotism, morale and religiosity. This caused the spread of such phenomena as desertion, the refusal of soldiers to fulfill the orders of commanders, voluntary imprisonment, hiding in the rear, large number of simulations etc. As a result, in 1916 - 1917, measures, adopted by the Russian imperial government in order to control the socio-political situation, could no longer hide the true situation and restrain the serious transformations in the mass public consciousness, which included: the gradual destruction of traditional forms of imperialism and official ideology, based on the formula of Sergey Uvarov (1786 - 1855): Orthodox faith, autocracy, nation. The increase of political activity in the national consciousness of the Ukrainians was a notable phenomenon. It also was one of the important preconditions for the revolutionary events and the development of the Ukrainian statehood in the 1917s - 1920s.

In conclusion, we can allocate three main stages of society's reception and understanding of the events of war:

1) July of 1914 - spring 1915 - a stage of patriotic “euphoria”, a positive attitude to war and support of government's actions by the majority of the population;

2) the summer of 1915 - the summer of 1916 - the period of rethinking of the war events, a gradual understanding of its true goals and negative consequences, the decline of patriotism, the appearance of indifference and distrust of the population of civilian authorities and military structures;

3) the autumn of 1916 - February of 1917 - increasing of public dissatisfaction, negative criticism of the government's actions, intensification of anti-war and revolutionary mood, increasing of political activity of the society and actualization of national issues, in particular the Ukrainian one.

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