A “sick man” on a sinking ship: The image of Turkey in the Russian press during the First World War

Abstract

The article examines the development of the image of Turkey in the Russian press in 1914-1918. Perceiving the Ottoman Empire as a minor power with a weak army, Russian newspapers and magazines took into account the great strategic and political significance of the new Russian-Turkish war in solving Russia’s “historical tasks” in the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Periodicals of different orientations assessed the significance of the new Russian-Turkish war in different ways. For the conservative press, this was primarily the return of the “cross to St. Sophia”, the return of the Orthodox tsar to Constantinople. The liberal press paid more attention to the economic opportunities from the capture of the Straits. However, for both of them, the victory in the war was perceived as a natural result of the Russian-Turkish confrontation and symbolized the final “expulsion” of Turkey from Europe. In a broader sense, this meant the expulsion of Aziatchina [Asianism] from the “civilization” area. This reasoning was facilitated by major victories on the Caucasian Front (as opposed to the main front in Europe) and regular reports from official sources (Petrograd Telegraph Agency, General Staff) about the socio-economic and political crisis in the Ottoman Empire. The condescending attitude, the underestimation of the combat capability of the Turkish army and Turkey’s resistance to a protracted war prevailed. In many ways, therefore, the Caucasian Front remained secondary, although victory in this theater made it possible to open the Straits and receive large consignments of weapons and ammunition from the Western allies. In 1917, the “dream of Tsargrad,” tacitly proclaimed as the main goal of Russia in the world war, became one of the key factors in the political crisis. In the socialist press, Constantinople and the Straits became the personification of Russian imperialism and the cause of the deaths of millions of soldiers, the impoverishment of the people, and the depletion of the economy. Against this background, the image of Turkey underwent tangible changes. The conservative press developed the image of Turkey as an “Eastern despotism,” a historically doomed autocracy. In fact, it became a new ideological frame for the old military goals of Russia in the world war. The social democratic press turned more to the suffering of ordinary Turks, who were forced to shed blood for goals they did not know. The commonality of the fate of the Turkish and Russian peoples in their long and difficult struggle with the autocracy for the establishment of democracy was emphasized. The economic and political crisis in Russia actually led the second point of view to victory, which influenced the general course of the Russian Revolution. The author declares no conflicts of interests.