Vladimir V. Lapin

Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor

European University at St. Petersburg

(St. Petersburg, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2024-3-65-78

Abstract. An analysis of the pre-revolutionary Russia armed forces historiography shows that the issue of the officer corps political culture in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries remain controversial. The idea about the political apathy of the command staff of the tsarist army retains its positions, despite a number of studies that reasonably refute this opinion. The article examines the involvement of officers in commemorative practices that became widespread at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as part of the celebration of numerous anniversaries. Since political views are reflected not only in direct assessments of current events, it is appropriate to consider the connection between ideas about the past and the present. Officers formed an important part of the social stratum commonly called society, were in a common informational and cultural atmosphere. Historical argumentation in various forms is used when creating political constructs; the very choice of retrospective information says a lot about political orientation. The servicemen actively participated in the preparation and holding of the anniversaries of 1890 – 1910s, among which the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 took a special place. Several volumes of materials (reports of military commanders, newspaper clippings) collected by General F. Ya. Rostkovsky on celebrations that had a nationwide character testify to the great involvement of officers and lower ranks in the festivities. Participation in the celebration of significant anniversaries stimulated interest in history in personal and corporate formats. Individuals and military units (regiments) appreciated the high symbolic value of their involvement in great historical events and took an active part in the construction of monuments and other commemorative actions. Such activity was a good school for political education.
Keywords: the Russian Army of the early 20th century, politics, historical memory, anniversaries.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Lapin, VV 2024, ‘Anniversaries of the 19th – 20th Centuries Turn and the Russian Armed Forces’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 3 (19), pp. 65–78, http://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2024-3-65-78 (in Russ.)

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