With this material, the series of articles about the "Battle on the Ice" ends. And those who liked the materials published in it, and those to whom they “got stuck in their throats,” cannot fail to note that the materials were selected in an exhaustive way: chronicle texts for independent study, views on this event based on the opinion of such well-known Russian historians like Kirpichnikov, Danilevsky, Kvyatkovsky, Zhukov, finally, how this event is viewed by modern English-speaking historians, and now it's time to see how it was reflected in the propaganda of the past.
Any action - if it is written about it, generates a corresponding reaction in society. Positive news is positive. Negative - negative. This is an axiom of propaganda work with the population. And, by the way, it is precisely for this - the prevalence of positive over negative - that journalists “do not like” PR people. After all, negative information is more accessible to journalists. She, one might say, herself goes into their hands, and the positive must be sought. And they pay for both the same, and since nobody wants to strain … journalists choose the first. But PR people, by definition, should avoid negative, and they also give out positive to journalists. It's a shame, of course, for journalists, but nothing can be done.
As you know from the theory of James Grunig, there are four models of PR-practices, and the first of them is precisely propaganda and agitation. And it would be strange if such an event as the "Battle on the Ice" were not involved in the technologies of social management. So information about it should be considered not only from a historical point of view, but also from the point of view of PR technologies, that is, how it was presented to this society. And this event was presented in such a way that as a result, the battle on Lake Peipsi, in the eyes of most of our contemporaries, became almost "the main battle of the Middle Ages" largely due to the skillful PR-promotion. But it became so only in the XX century. For our ancestors who lived in the XIII century, it was, of course, significant, but not at all an exceptional event. Let's at least count it … by words. So, the Novgorod Chronicle gives him 125 words, and the battle on the Neva (1240) 232 words, while the message about the Rakovor battle (1268) was already transmitted by 780 words, i.e. almost six times more was said about him than about the battle on Lake Peipsi. In addition to the larger volume, the message of the Novgorod chronicler about him also speaks of the attitude to the Battle of Rakovor, that “the massacre was terrible, as if neither fathers nor fathers had seen”. That is, the scale of this battle and those that were earlier are compared.
Well, the popularity of the "Battle on the Ice" is associated with the skillful Soviet propaganda during the Great Patriotic War, during which the image of Alexander Nevsky, as the winner of the Knights of the Teutonic Order, was fused together with the victory over Nazi Germany. So any attempt on his life is perceived by people far from history as an attempt and victory in the Great Patriotic War, and causes serious psychological discomfort. Moreover, the image of Prince Alexander was not very popular in the 20-30s of the Soviet era and only over time began to be actively promoted.
However, first of all, the film was shot. At first he had a different plot and a different ending, but Comrade Stalin, after reading the script, wrote on it: "Such a good prince cannot die" and … Eisenstein did not allow the prince to die in the end!
Nikolai Cherkasov as Prince Alexander Nevsky is one of his best roles (1938).
The film was released on screens, began to be shown, but … immediately after August 23, 1939 it was removed from the rental. Then we so wanted to make friends with the Germans that we decided not to offend them with Soviet art!
But from the very first days of the war, the film was returned to the screens, and along with the viewing, they also began to practice short messages and comments on it, and after the screening, they began to discuss it. If we look at the advertisements, we immediately notice how they have changed since the beginning of the war. On the posters of 1938, we see Prince Alexander leading the troops into battle. The enemy is not shown! An epic look, but nothing more!
The poster of the film "Alexander Nevsky" 1938
On the posters of the 41st - the theme of the enemy is already presented quite concretely, and not abstractly, as before the war. And immediately there were many publications in newspapers and magazines, performances went on the stages of theaters, artists began to write paintings, and printers began to print postcards and brochures dedicated to this event. In 1941-45, at least 22 books about Prince Alexander and the Battle of the Ice were published - in the form of small-format brochures intended for soldiers. Numerous lecturers of the OK and RK VKP (b) were actively involved in giving lectures on military-patriotic topics. And of course, the Battle of the Ice was popularized by its 700th anniversary, which fell on 1942, and … a corresponding article on the front page of the Pravda newspaper!
The image of Prince Alexander Nevsky appeared on posters - both as an independent figure of the defender of the Russian land, and together with other great Russian commanders of our history. Then no one wrote that Kutuzov was a freemason and brewed coffee for Catherine's favorite, that Suvorov fought against some kind of Tartary, and everyone knew that they fought against the enemies of Russia, Russia, and as a result - the Soviet Union, and … one look at such posters infused a certain portion of adrenaline into the blood of people. At the same time, the enemies of Alexander Nevsky were exclusively Teutonic knights. All other opponents of the prince, in particular the Swedes, who remained neutral, did not stand out on the posters. "This is for specialists!" It is interesting that the armor of the knights on them almost never corresponded to the real weapons of the knights of the middle of the 13th century, but were treated to the 16th as a more "solid" and "impressive" type of armor. And it is not surprising that people remembered this, especially since it also simply flattered their pride - "they've been so overwhelmed!"
"Our land is glorious for its heroes." Victor Govorkov. Pre-war poster of 1941 As you can see, the images of an ancient Russian warrior, similar to Ilya Muromets from the famous painting "Three Heroes" and a modern Soviet tanker, are played very well. However, in general, they are static and do not induce action!
The image of Alexander Nevsky was played up even in humorous magazines, for example, such as Front Humor. In 1942, the following anecdotes were printed in the form of postal telegrams:
Berlin, Hitler.
I wish you, damned nemchin, quick death.
I grieve that … I cannot personally put my hand to the German scruff of the neck.
A. Nevsky.
Germany, Gitlyarek.
Remember, you bastard, how much I dug the shafts of your ancestors on Lake Peipsi. On the occasion of the anniversary, I can repeat it.
Vasily Buslaev.
Funny, isn't it? And it really worked and cheered people up! Only Buslai's shaft began to be perceived as a historical fact over time! But on the other hand, all this together consolidated the image of Alexander as a visible and impressive anti-German symbol, ideally suited for anti-fascist propaganda.
It should be noted that before the war, the attitude towards military victories in the era of tsarism was very ambiguous. So, in the book of V. E. Markevich's "Hand Firearms", published in 1937, literally the following was written about the same Suvorov "miracle heroes" (p. 157): bayonet. They rarely served retirement and retirement, dying in battle, from illness or from corporal punishment with sticks, which were allowed to be beaten to death. The service was almost eternal: 25 years. These unfortunate people were recruited almost exclusively from the poor peasantry. Wealthy conscripts, according to the laws of that time, could buy off the service with money. The commander Suvorov gave such names as: slave-soldier - "miracle hero", 15-kg knapsack - "wind", disciplinary sticks - "sticks", etc. " However, the speech of Molotov (June 22, 1941, in which he called the war Patriotic), and Stalin (July 3, 1941, in which his famous "brothers and sisters" sounded), at once directed the sound of Soviet propaganda into a different tone. Moreover, they also touched upon the themes of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the struggle of young Soviet Russia with the German interventionists in 1918. Therefore, the Suvorov soldiers were no longer called "soldier-slaves".
Even more important for the canonization of Alexander Nevsky was Stalin's speech on November 7, 1941. Then, on the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution, he said: "Let the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov, inspire you in this war!" Moreover, in addition to the military leaders, Stalin spoke about other great figures of Russian culture: Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Tchaikovsky.
"We beat, we beat and we will beat." Vladimir Serov. A poster of 1941. The following details attract themselves: the sword of the Russian warrior expanding towards the end (giving the image an epic significance), cow horns on the helmet of the German knight (demonstrating his wickedness - "devil horned" and at the same time doomed to slaughter), and the fascist emblem on the sleeve German soldier. Yes, the soldiers of the Wehrmacht did not wear such emblems, but the enemy and his ideological affiliation were so clearly indicated.
And immediately articles appeared in newspapers and magazines, the authors of which turned to the history of the Fatherland, to the victory of Kutuzov over Napoleon, and to the historical battles: the Battle of the Ice, the Battle of Grunwald, the battles of the Seven Years' War, as well as the victories over the Germans in Ukraine, near Narva and Pskov in 1918, the fight against foreign invaders in 1918-20. Now materials devoted to the propaganda of the fighting traditions of our ancestors in the Pravda newspaper began to occupy an average of 60%, in Krasnaya Zvezda - 57%, in Truda - 54%, that is, more than half of all publications aimed at promoting the ideas of patriotism among the peoples of the USSR.
Newspaper articles were supplemented with the massive publication of brochures of the corresponding series (for example, "Writers - Patriots of the Motherland", "Great Fighters for the Russian Land", etc.). “Children's Literature” published books for children on the history of weapons, for example, in 1942 a popular book about tanks by O. Drozhzhin “Land Cruisers” was published.
However, Stalin's speech on November 7, 1941 acquired special significance for poster art. Posters in the USSR were a popular art form even before that. Now they began to appear both in newspapers and on the walls of houses, in a word, wherever they could catch the eye. Moreover, the image of Alexander Nevsky occupied, if not dominant, then, in any case, a very noticeable place on the Soviet patriotic poster of the Great Patriotic War, although the images of Minin and Pozharsky, Dmitry Donskoy, and, of course, commanders Suvorov and Kutuzov were used.
Here it is, that very article in the Pravda newspaper, dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the battle on Lake Peipsi, and which determined, so to speak, the trend of Soviet historical science in this matter. But it is interesting that even in it there is no talk of drowning the knights in the lake. Even Stalin's propagandists understood that what is not in the annals should not be written in Pravda.
But on the whole, the process of "building bridges" between pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union has been going on since the early 1930s, when the USSR decided to recognize itself as the historical heir of the Russian Empire. Many revolutionary phrases and slogans, including the world revolution itself in the medium term, were also abandoned and decided to “build socialism in a single country”. But the authorities also needed a legitimizing basis for themselves. And this basis was supposed to be "Soviet patriotism", and for its construction the ideologists took as a model … imperial patriotism, which was easily explainable. “Throwing Pushkin off the steamer of modernity”, as was suggested at the beginning, and starting to build our proletarian culture from a “blank slate” turned out to be not only impossible, but also unprofitable. Therefore, already in 1931, history was again taught in schools as a separate discipline. In 1934, history faculties were restored at Moscow and Leningrad universities, and then opened in other higher educational institutions. But the Soviet government did not need history for the sake of history itself, it needed a patriotic history filled with names, facts and events that would work for a new ideology and increase the people's love for their country and its political leadership. The mistakes of the past were also taken into account, when in the pre-revolutionary period the masses were basically not embraced by such work with all its tragic consequences for the state.
And here is an excerpt from the same article, which did not fit entirely into the top photo. Here we are talking about knights in forged armor and this has also become a trend, as if there were no books by Beheim and Le Duc and even banal school textbooks with copies from historical miniatures … Why is it so clear if we remember what time it was. Stalin declared in print that the Germans were superior to us in tanks, and only because of this their infantry was advancing, otherwise we would have defeated them long ago. Therefore, the weight of the weapons and the superiority of the enemy in it were transferred to the past! And hence the conclusion: we beat them, shackled from head to toe then, we will beat them now, in spite of all their tanks! So it should have been written in 1942, and so it was! But today the time is different, we have a different level of knowledge and "chained" knights - this is bad manners. Lat was simply not there then. Even before the Battle of Visby (where the massive appearance of plate armor was recorded), it was even more than a hundred years old!
During the war years, tanks, both our Soviet and Lend-Lease tanks, were named after the legendary prince.
Tank "Churchill" No. 61 "Alexander Nevsky". Photo of the war years.
Tank "Churchill" No. 61 "Alexander Nevsky". Modern drawing.
Airplanes bore his name. For example, this "Ercobra".
Therefore, the old imperial doctrine in the field of history was revised accordingly. For example, Alexander Nevsky, from one of the Orthodox saints, and also the patron saint of the royal family, which he was considered to be in Russia in the 19th century, turned into a military and, of course, a political … leader who is closely connected with the people, learns from him (scene in a movie with a story about a fox!), and at the same time stands over his subjects. The similarity of such a figure with the image of Stalin is quite obvious. Yes, and the society of Russia in the XIII century began to paint as very, very recognizable for those years. In it, of course, there were numerous traitors, both secret and obvious "enemies of the people", and the threat from the German enemies hung over the country constantly. Therefore, the only way out of this situation was, firstly, tough centralized power, and secondly, a fierce struggle with all internal enemies and collective submission to the great leader. And all this was based on the paternalism mentality inherent in Russian society, so everything was connected in a very logical way. As a result, in the minds of a significant part of society, Alexander Nevsky is associated with the "Battle of the Ice". Well, those who read a little more see him as an authoritarian ruler who, in the interests of the people, was forced to take tough, and often even cruel, measures. But the "father of the people", of course, can do anything, because he is the "father" and leader!
Newspaper "Moskovsky Bolshevik" dated 1942-05-04 Pay attention to the striking contrast of the text of the article in it with the material of the editorial in the newspaper "Pravda". A person writes an explicit fiction, not based on anything, he simply takes numbers from the ceiling, but … no one pulls him down. Cause? Pravda “cannot be wrong,” but all other newspapers can do it, and … like this, one piece of information in the public mind was gradually replaced by another, albeit “fabulous,” but more “useful” for the authorities and for the people. Especially interesting is it written about two-pound armor …
As a conclusion, it should be said that as a PR tool, the image of Alexander Nevsky worked 100% during the war years, that is, the work of its creators corresponded to the tasks of the time, the lack of education of the then population, and was done conscientiously. But then … then the “hero image” had to be gradually reduced (which is also indicated by the theory of mass communications!) On the basis of referring to scientific data, and at the level of state policy. What for? And then, so as not to jeopardize the entire national history as a whole and not to produce subsequently those who, over time, would speculate on all these and other similar exaggerations, already denying our entire history as reliable. If this had been done, the hyperbolized image of Alexander Nevsky would have remained in the people's memory, as one of the symbols of the Great Patriotic War, and a monument to the art of the Soviet era, and no one would have broken copies because of him, for example, here in VO. "It was!" Well, so what?!
But then, according to their time, it was necessary to look for new heroes and by means of communication technologies to raise them on the shield. That is, it was necessary to shoot a whole series of new, colorful and colorful films about … Dmitry Donskoy, political instructor Klochkov, Captain Marinesko, about hero pilots who bombed Berlin already in 1941, and not worse, but better than the American film Beauty of Memphis. We have more than 400 (!) Heroes who performed a feat similar to the feat of Alexander Matrosov, and many did it much earlier than he did. Of the ancient heroes about Svyatoslav alone, more than one epic film could be shot, so there would be no special problems with "nature". Or, say, this one, Pushkin's: "Your shield is on the gates of Constantinople!" By the way, a good title for a movie, and why don't we make it ?! After all, we shot a wonderful series about Yermak or the same "Admiral" … So here it would be quite possible to "disperse" this topic for more than one episode. The main problems here are money, professionalism and such a relic of the past as the primacy of propaganda over historical science. But there's nothing you can do about it. It is what it is. But sooner or later, you will have to realize that you need to move away from the old attitude towards history, as a servant of politics, to modern communication technologies, and understand that there are other technologies for controlling mass consciousness and that they are no worse than the annoying propaganda and agitation. Well, and about Prince Alexander himself it is quite possible to say that, having stood against the Swedes and the Germans, he eventually turned into both a symbol and a victim of propaganda, the power of which, by the way, under certain conditions, no one denies!
PS: Those wishing to deepen their knowledge on this topic and get additional information can recommend the following works:
Goryaeva T. "If tomorrow is war …" The image of the enemy in Soviet propaganda 1941-1945 // Russia and Germany in the twentieth century. Volume. 1. Seduction by power. Russians and Germans in the First and Second World Wars. M., 2010. S. 343 - 372.
Senyavsky A. S. Soviet ideology during the Second World War: stability, elements of transformation, impact on historical memory // History and culture of the victorious country: to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Samara, 2010.-- S.10-19.
Schenk F. B. Alexander Nevsky in Russian Cultural Memory: Saint, Ruler, National Hero (1263 - 2000). M., 2007.
