Propaganda in the World and Local Conflicts

43-49

Authors: Goran Rajovic

This paper provides an analysis of 25 research studies on military propaganda indexed in the Web of Science database and published in the period 2004–2019, i.e. in the 21st century. The materials were systematized by year, publication venue, and research subject matter. The author draws the conclusion that in the early modern period military propaganda was employed mainly in times of revolutions and wars of independence. This may be explained by the fact that the period’s armies did not have the institution of military propagandists in place yet. It was only as late as the Crimean War that mass media were first used to shape public opinion among the populations of the countries at war. In the modern period, the role of military propaganda grew significantly, with military propagandists getting set apart into a special military unit. In a time of war, mass media were subordinate to the local administration, which made it possible to create the conditions for keeping public opinion steady and preventing the “war weariness” phenomenon. The development of digital technology and the Internet has facilitated communication among terrorist communities significantly. This has given researchers reason to explore the nature and manifestations of terrorist activity and seek out ways to counteract it. In the contemporary period, military propaganda is finding manifestation in terrorist activity, hybrid wars, and states’ activity on countering domestic and international threats.

55-66

Authors: Dmitry V.Liventsev

This paper looks into the organization of military propaganda in the Russian Imperial Navy in the period 1914-1915. The author examines the rivalry in hostile propaganda between Russia and Germany during World War I in the Baltic and Black Sea theaters of military operations. The paper describes some of the key propaganda techniques employed by the nations of the Entente and those of the Triple Alliance; explores the rivalry in hostile propaganda between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire; discusses the attitude toward World War I among the Navy's lower ranks and officers; provides an insight into the rationale behind patriotic sentiment among the personnel of the Russian Imperial Navy during the initial period of World War I; examines the role of Emperor Nicholas II and the State Duma in Russia’s propaganda campaigns in its World War I fleet; illustrates how advantage was taken of the feats of clergymen, sailors, and officers in the Russian navy for propaganda purposes. Using specific examples from popular publications of the World War I period, the author touches upon how the media in pre-revolutionary Russia exploited the atrocities committed against the civilian population by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey to spread military propaganda among the personnel of the Russian Imperial Navy. At the end of the paper, the author summarizes the key characteristics and principles of the organization of military propaganda in the Russian Imperial Navy in the period 1914–1915.

77-82

Authors: Oleksandra Kirichenko

This paper addresses the effect of the legal press on the national-cultural life of Chernihivshchyna during the period of German occupation (1941–1943), as well as its significance for the local population in tough wartime conditions. The author researched the major newspapers that shaped public opinion in the region at the time. In researching the press, the author identified some of the key areas linked to deploying a new ideology – and, as a consequence, a new worldview – in society (e.g., anti-Semitic agitation, all-out criticism of the Soviet system, touting the delights of living in Germany, stimulating relocation to Germany for work, etc.). To this day, there remains open the issue of the locals’ real attitude toward the occupiers, as well as the reasons behind the local population’s active collaboration with the Germans. For the most part, this was associated with some of the locals having had a problem with the law during the pre-war period, some having fallen victim to Stalin's repressions, some having been variously oppressed by Soviet power, some just trying to survive in tough wartime conditions, etc. It is also important to note that a nascent hope was kindled among the locals that with support from the German leadership it would be possible to have an independent Ukraine. Up until a certain point, the Fascists were tolerant of the unfolding Ukrainization process in the occupied areas (e.g., use of the Ukrainian language in the media and in the cultural-enlightenment sector; coverage of nationalist ideas and slogans; establishment of clubs, theaters, and schools; preferential treatment in employment based on ethnicity). Thus, the activity of a major portion of Ukrainian newspapers during the occupation period was of a propagandist nature. The most welcome topics to hear about included news about events at the front, victories won by German troops, support for the ideas of Fascism, and agitation for cultural-artistic and awareness-raising activity, which, where done properly, was instrumental in heightening the Ukrainians’ sense of national consciousness. This type of source has proven to help gain a deeper insight into the prevailing sentiment of society and explain the locals’ attitude toward the “new order”.

3-7

Authors: Volodymyr Pylypenko

This paper addresses the use of fake documents in Rzeczpospolita’s 17th-century political discourse. The author discusses a variety of fake documents used at the time, including the following: the Sultan’s letters to the King of Rzeczpospolita, fake correspondence between the monarchs, the Sultan’s letters to the Polish gentry, and a set of false agreements related to the creation of a European Christian anti-Turkish coalition. Whomever they may have been addressed to, these documents must have had an impact on political life in the Polish-Lithuanian state and must have served to push Warsaw into war with the Ottoman Empire.

19-24

Authors: Dmitry V. Liventsev

The paper discusses distinctive characteristics pertaining to military propaganda in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Fleet (RKKF) in the 1920s. It reviews the state of propaganda in the Red Fleet divisions and analyzes the objective difficulties related to attempts to explain the tasks and goals of the Soviet government. The paper uses documents from the Russian State Navy Archives (St. Petersburg, Russian Federation) as research materials. In addition, materials from the brochure “How our fleet is different from the bourgeois one” by A. Krymov were utilized. Collective monographs used include “Twice Red Banner Baltic fleet”, “Red Banner Pacific Fleet”, “Red Banner Black Sea Fleet” and “Northern Fleet of Russia”. In conclusion, the author sums up the factors that drove military propaganda efficiency among officers and sailors of the Baltic Fleet in the historical period under review. The author also provides little-known facts about the organization of propaganda activity among Soviet sailors.

33-40

Authors: Andrii Е. Lebid

Of relevance to modern military doctrine is the concept of hybrid (or proxy) warfare, i.e. a combination of conventional, irregular, and asymmetric ways of conducting war, including manipulation of political and/or ideological conflicts and engagement of special operation forces, conventional armed forces, intelligence agents, political agent provocateurs, and mass media outlets. Among the tools employed quite actively in modern proxy warfare are economic blackmail, cyber-attacks, proxy servers and surrogates, paramilitaries, and terrorist and criminal elements.