Известия Уральского федерального университета. Серия 2: Гуманитарные науки (Oct 2018)
The French Military Mission in Russia during World War I and the 1917 Revolution in the Russian Politics of Memory
Abstract
This article considers the issue of commemoration of the French-Russian interaction during World War I and the Revolution and its description in Russian historiography. The author supposes that the study of issues of the French-Russian cooperation between 1914 and 1918 corresponds to the current public agenda and contemporary tendencies in historiography. These tendencies strive to overcome the “oblivion of World War I” and the ideological concepts of Soviet researchers in this field. At the same time, the cooperation between the two countries during World War I provides valuable examples of effective interaction that may become an integral part of the Russian politics of memory. More particularly, it means the activity of the French military mission in Russia and its local services, i.e. artillery, transport, and aviation missions. On the other hand, a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the French military mission could enrich the existing knowledge of the economic, social, and political conditions of the late Russian Empire and clarify certain subjects related to the activities of Bolsheviks in Russia. The author raises a question regarding the role of the professional community in opposing the mythology of public authorities and maintaining the conditions for a thorough exploration of the past. In order to reconstruct the activities of the French services between 1914 and 1918, the author refers to documents of the Historical Service of the French Ministry of Defence and public speeches of Russian politicians and public figures; additionally, the author considers historiography as a source representing “professional memory”. The methodology of the research is based on the concepts of memorial culture and historical politics of A. Assmann, which considers historiography a special form of historical memory.
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