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Issue 1 (42)

THE IMAGE OF THE ALLY: RUSSIA THROUGH THE EYES OF THE BRITISH PUBLIC DURING WORLD WAR I
Year	2014	Number	1(42)
Pages	53-58	Type	scientific article
UDC	94(410)”1914/19”	BBK	63.3(4Вел)52
Authors	Adamov Daniil P.	Topic	CENTENARY OF WORLD WAR I
Summary	The article studies the image of Russia and the Russians as it had formed and developed in the eyes of the British public during World War I. The evolution of the ally’s perception in Great Britain is examined on the basis of newspaper publications, public writing and personal correspondence. In order to accept Russia as an ally in the war with Germany, British public opinion needed to overcome the enduring stereotypes of Russia as a barbarous, backwards state ruled by a repressive regime, and as the main rival of Great Britain. The British government and the pro-Russian authors had endeavored to build the image of Russia as an ally. However the “positive” image they created turned out in fact to be also rather ambivalent and in many ways similar to the old British stereotype of a “noble savage”. The Russians were endowed with both positive traits (personal courage, endurance, and honesty) and negative ones (backwardness, naivety, rashness). Although this shaping of the image of Russia had in the short-term succeeded in helping to create faith in Russia as a worthy and capable ally, it had ultimately turned out to be overly optimistic, making the October revolution and Russia’s exit from the war a sudden and serious disappointment for the British political elite and public opinion.
Keywords	World War I, Great Britain, Russian-British relations, imagology, image of Russia, propaganda
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