"A Hard Country to Love"- Patriotism and National Identity in Russia's Great War (Research Brief)
October 1, 2012
My study explores the forging of Russian nationalism and patriotism in the crucible of the Great War. I examine how the Russian government, Russian Orthodox church, and various groups within the empire defined and promoted patriotism and Russian national identity (both "russkii and rossiiskii") by looking at censorship and propaganda, court cases, mobilization campaigns, efforts to honor and memorialize soldiers, and exclusion of the "unworthy" from the national community. My research suggests that the ordeal of total war in Russia helped create and disseminate a new, modern national identity--one based on common territory, citizens' shared service and sacrifice, and fear of foreign domination-- as well as the more traditional markers of religion and ethnicity. It thus suggests that modern Russian nationalism is not simply a product of the Soviet period.
Melissa K. Stockdale, of the University of Oklahoma, was a 2010-2011 Short-Term Travel Grants (STG) fellow.
