The Image of Austro-Hungary as Depicted in the “Russian Invalid” Newspaper during the Initial Years of World War I (1914–1915)

Abstract

The article examines and analyzes the portrayal of Austro-Hungary by correspondents of the Russian daily newspaper, “Russian Invalid,” during 1914–1915. This was a period when the Russian Empire was actively engaged in military conflict with the states of the Triple (and later, Quadruple) Alliance on the European front, with Austro-Hungary emerging as one of its primary adversaries on the Eastern Front. Established in February 1813, the “Russian Invalid” was the official print publication of the Military Ministry of the Russian Empire and served as a pivotal source of information on the empire’s foreign policies. This state-run newspaper was financed by the budget of Russia’s Military Ministry. In the early stages of World War I (1914–1915), the “Russian Invalid” correspondents devoted significant attention to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Only Germany, Britain, and France received more coverage in this publication. The majority of the information about Austro-Hungary appeared under sections titled “Military Chronicle,” “Feuilleton,” “War,” “Telegram,” and “Articles.”

The study concludes that during World War I, the “Russian Invalid,” the daily newspaper of the Military Ministry of the Russian Empire, played a pivotal role in shaping public opinion within the empire. It crafted diverse images of the states involved in the early 20th century’s major military conflict, designating them as either “enemy,” “neutral state,” or “ally.” The Austro-Hungarian Empire was depicted as a nation that had significantly exhausted its economic, military-technical, and human resources in the initial two years of the war. Such depletion was foreseen to not only incite widespread national unrest but also accelerate the empire’s eventual disintegration, an entity long referred to as a “prison of nations.”