PERIODICALS AND MILITARY CENSORSHIP DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Abstract

The article reveals some of the problems that arose between military censors and the media during the First World War. The article is written on the basis of the military censorship materials of the Supreme Commander headquarters of the Russian army, the censorship department of the Minsk military district and the materials of the periodical press. The authors conclude that the conflict was predetermined both by the imperfection of the censorship legislation, which provided an opportunity for the censors to evaluate the publications of newspapers and magazines at their own discretion, and by the censorship omissions of the media, which printed inaccurate news and placed information that the enemy could use. The result was ineffective military censorship and the failure of the press to fulfill its important mission: to contribute to the formation of public opinion in the rear in the interests of the state.

Keywords

• World War I
• military censorship
• periodical press
• propaganda
• military secrets
• public opinion