The First World War in the Memoirs of the American Journalist Stanley Washburn

 
PIIS013038640014695-2-1
DOI10.31857/S013038640014695-2
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, RAS
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Journal nameNovaia i noveishaia istoriia
EditionIssue 3
Pages115-129
Abstract

The article is devoted to the activities of the American journalist Stanley Washburn during the First World War. The article is based on the memoirs of Washburn, published posthumously and still poorly represented in Russian historiography. Departing for Europe in August 1914, he planned to cover military operations on the Western Front. However, the owner of the London Times, Alfred Harmsworth, persuaded Washburn to go to the Russian front instead. For London and Petrograd, S. Washburn was valuable as a representative of a major neutral power, a potential creditor, supplier of weapons and ammunition. He could improve the image of the allies in American public opinion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey D. Sazonov encouraged him to travel to the front, overcoming the mistrust and resistance of the Headquarters and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich himself. This allowed Washburn to see the largest battles of the Eastern Front, visit Lviv and Przemyśl, witness the Great Retreat and Brusilov Offensive. Both at the front and Headquarters, he met many major military leaders and twice talked with Emperor Nicholas II. Washburn's last visit to Russia took place in 1917 as part of Senator Elihu Root’s mission. Reacting to the October Coup with hostility, he opposed the diplomatic recognition of the USSR, emphasized the contribution of Russia to the victory of the Entente and the underestimation of this contribution in post-war Europe.

KeywordsFirst World War, USA, Russia, memoirs, Stanley Washburn, Lord Northcliffe, S. D. Sazonov, Nicholas II
Received05.02.2021
Publication date01.05.2021
Number of characters45310
Cite  
100 rub.
When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 708

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Bannikova N.V. Dokumenty arkhiva britanskoi gazety “Tayms” o deyatelnosti zhurnalista Stenli Vashburna v raspolozhenii rossiiskikh voisk v Pervuyu mirovuyu voinu [Documents from the archives of the British newspaper “Times” on the activities of journalist Stanley Washburn in the deployment of Russian troops in the First World War] // Istoiya i Arkhivy [History and Archives]. 2020. № 3. P. 133–141. (In Russ.)

2. Blokhin V.F. Voennye korrespondenty Minskogo voennogo okruga v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny: k istorii voprosa [War correspondents of the Minsk Military District during the First World War: on the history of the issue] // Vestnik Bryanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Bryansk State University]. 2017. № 3. P. 28–33. (In Russ.)

3. Bogomolov I.K. Amerikanskiy zhurnalist Stenli Uoshbern na Russkom fronte Pervoi mirovoi voiny [American Journalist Stanley Washburn at The Russian Front of The First World War] // Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 8. Istoriya [Moscow University Bulletin. Series 8. History]. 2020. № 3. P. 78–99. (In Russ.)

4. Lemke M.K. 250 dnei v Tsarskoi Stavke [250 days at the Tsar’s Headquarters]. Moskva, 2015. (In Russ.)

5. Listikov S.V. Rossiya v pervoi mirovoi voine glazami amerikanskogo zhurnalista Stenli Uoshberna, 1917–1919 gg. [Russia in World War I through the eyes of American journalist Stanley Washburn, 1917–1919] // Amerikanskiy Ezhegodnik [American Yearbook]. Мoskva, 1997. P. 177–189. (In Russ.)

6. Tretiakova S.N. Amerikanskiy korrespondent Stenli Uoshbern na russkom fronte [American correspondent Stanley Washburn on the Russian front] // Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal [Military-historical journal]. 2019. № 10. P. 71–76. (In Russ.)

7. Asada S. Between the Old Diplomacy and the New, 1918–1922: The Washington System and the Origins of Japanese-American Rapprochement // Diplomatic History. 2006. Vol. 30 (2). P. 211–230.

8. Cockfield J.H. General Aleksei Brusilov and the Great Retreat, May–November 1915 // The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 2013. Vol. 26(4). P. 653–672.

9. Dubbs C. American Journalists in the Great War: Rewriting the Rules of Reporting. Lincoln, 2017.

10. Ingram A.E. The Root Mission to Russia, 1917: PhD Dissertation, Louisiana State University, 1970.

11. Morison S. The History of the Times. Vol. 4. The 150th Anniversary and Beyond, 1912–1948. Part 1. 1912–1920. London, 1952.

12. Pares B. My Russian Memoirs. London, 1931.

13. Polk J. A Constructive Efforts: The American Red Cross and YMCA in Revolutionary and Civil War Russia, 1917–24. PhD Dissertation, University of Toronto, 2012.

14. Researching World War I: A Handbook. London, 2003.

15. The Parliamentary Debates. House of Commons. 30 May 1916. URL: https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1916/may/30/russia-and-constantinople#S5CV0082P0_19160530_HOC_84 (access date: 10.11.2020).

16. Washburn S. Field Notes from the Russian Front. London, 1915.

17. Washburn S. Nogi, a Man against the Background of a Great War. New York, 1913.

18. Washburn S. The Cable Game. Boston, 1912.

19. Washburn S. The Russian Campaign. April to August 1915. London, 1915.

20. Washburn S. Victory in Defeat. The Agony of Warsaw and the Russian Retreat. New York, 1916.

21. Washburn S. The Russian Advance. New York, 1917.

22. Washburn S. On the Russian Front in World War I: Memoirs of an American War Correspondent. New York, 1982.

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up