Iconology of the “Great War”: the Mobilization of Heroic-Patriotic Self-Awareness as Mirrored in the Russian Press of 1914

Abstract

Based on a historical-semiotic analysis of materials from a number of central periodicals published between August and December 1914, the article identifies and analyzes the primary visual-verbal strategies through which Russian heroic-patriotic self-awareness was shaped and reinforced in the press. It is demonstrated that these materials did not function in isolation but rather formed a complementary narrative, in which each element amplified the mobilizing effect of the whole. The strategy of allegorizing unity “in the grim hour of trial” intertwined traditional patrimonial narratives, the unification of the empire's diverse peoples against an external enemy, and images of civic solidarity and public service by the ruling elite. The heroization of the Russian warrior appealed to the archetypes of the Russian vityaz-bogatyr, projecting this image onto real heroes of the war's initial period, such as Kozma Kryuchkov and P.N. Nesterov, while also shaping a new, feminine image of heroic service – the sister of mercy. The sacralization of the Great War relied on traditional Orthodox and contemporary Pan-Slavic motifs, the Byzantine myth, as well as a historiosophical interpretation of the confrontation between the German “sword”, embodying the idea of military-political dominance, and the Russian “Cross” raised against it, symbolizing love and universal brotherhood.