The Second Patriotic War 1914 1918 examples of patriotism. Patriotic sentiments of Russians during the First World War

On the night of June 24, 1812, French troops crossed the border river Neman. The Patriotic War began in Russia...

Being, like all wars, a continuation of the policy of the ruling class, the Patriotic War of 1812 became a truly people's war, a model of the war of national liberation.

Today, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War are sometimes compared, paying attention to the fact that there were no communists in 1812, but the people stood up for their Fatherland and won, and therefore, above all ideologies and class contradictions.

On the other hand, the fact that the modern Russian authorities use in their propaganda the patriotic nature of both wars, obviously trying to demonstrate their patriotism and thereby achieve, if not the love of the people, then at least loyalty, causes some people to have a negative attitude both to the word and to the concept of "patriotism", and those who call themselves patriots are presented as either nationalists or supporters of bourgeois power.

In fact, patriotism underlies all national liberation movements, national liberation wars, and such movements and wars are considered in Marxist-Leninist theory as progressive phenomena. More often patriotism manifests itself in the fight against the enemies of the Fatherland, but it cannot come from nowhere at a critical moment, therefore, of course, in the words of Lenin, this feeling is fixed in isolated fatherlands for centuries and millennia.

However, it should be remembered that Marxist dialectics considers all phenomena in interconnection and constant movement. In On the Junius Pamphlet, Lenin wrote: “All facets in nature and in society are conditional and mobile, […] there is not a single phenomenon that could not, under certain conditions, turn into its opposite. A national war can turn into an imperialist one and vice versa.”

And in the same work, Lenin just, as an example, cites the era of the Napoleonic wars: “The wars of the great French revolution began as national and were such. These wars were revolutionary: the defense of a great revolution against a coalition of counter-revolutionary monarchies. And when Napoleon created the French empire with the enslavement of a number of long-established, large, viable, national states of Europe, then the French national wars turned into imperialist ones, which in turn gave rise to national liberation wars against Napoleon's imperialism.

The Patriotic War of 1812 was the most significant of these wars generated by Napoleon's imperialism. According to Engels, "the destruction of the huge Napoleonic army during the retreat from Moscow served as a signal for a general uprising against French rule in the West."

No one denies that one of the most important reasons for the defeat of Napoleon in his Russian campaign was the rise of patriotism of the entire people of Russia. This is confirmed by numerous facts: both the active partisan movement and the unparalleled heroism of the people's militias. This is enshrined in the works of literature and art of that time.

The oppressed people of feudal-serf Russia rose up against the Napoleonic army, against bourgeois France. Nothing but patriotism could lift the people. The patriotism of backward Russia turned out to be more progressive than the imperial, predatory ambitions of Napoleon.

However, the Patriotic War ended, Napoleon was expelled from Russia, his Great Army was almost completely destroyed. The foreign campaign of the Russian army began, which provided great assistance to the peoples of Europe in their liberation from Napoleonic domination.

The final defeat of Napoleon raised the international prestige of Russia to an unprecedented height and strengthened its power in Europe. But what was this power? The fact that Russia played a decisive role in the union of European monarchies who sought to restore the feudal-absolutist system in Europe liberated from Napoleon. In addition, Russia went beyond its natural borders - by the decision of the Vienna Congress of 1814-15. part of Poland became part of Russia, and the Russian emperor Alexander I became the Polish king. Engels noted: “If Russian chauvinism had some more excusing — I don’t want to say justifying — pretexts regarding the conquests of Catherine, then there can be no question of this regarding the conquests of Alexander. Finland is inhabited by Finns and Swedes, Bessarabia by Romanians, congressional Poland by Poles. Here we can’t even talk about the reunification of scattered kindred tribes bearing a Russian name, here we are dealing with an undisguised violent conquest of foreign territory, with a simple robbery.

This is how, in Engels's definition, Russian patriotism turned into Russian chauvinism. And this is not a special attitude of the classic to Russia. According to Marx, "all the wars of independence that were waged against France are characterized by a combination of the spirit of rebirth with the spirit of reaction." Reactionary and predatory goals were pursued by the ruling circles of all the allied powers that fought against Napoleon. Ultimately, their victory meant victory over the French Revolution.

So what happens - fueled by Russian patriotism, the progressive, just, national liberation Patriotic War of 1812 led in the end to reactionary results? If we recall the conditionality and mobility of all facets in nature and society, then it turns out like this. In addition, the victory over Napoleon, in fact, did not give anything to the people of Russia itself - the socio-economic structure did not change, serfdom continued to exist, and even the hopes of the militia from the peasants that after returning from the fronts they would receive freedom did not come true - after the defeat of Napoleon, the serfs were distributed to the landowners.

What then is the positive role of popular patriotism in the history of the fatherlands, if it easily develops into chauvinism and is used by the exploiting class in its own interests? Perhaps the Patriotic War of 1812 can serve as the most striking example of the fact that patriotism still plays a crucial role in the progressive development of peoples and societies.

It is known that it was the victory in 1812, achieved thanks to the rise of the national spirit, that caused in Russia the desire for free thinking, under its influence, the ideology of noble revolutionaries - the Decembrists, who in 1825 raised an uprising, began to take shape. And although the uprising was crushed, as Lenin noted, “the Decembrists woke up Herzen. Herzen launched a revolutionary agitation. It was picked up, expanded, strengthened, tempered by raznochintsy revolutionaries ... "Then a storm began, according to Lenin," the movement of the masses themselves. The first onslaught of the storm came in 1905. The following are also well known to everyone.

A. A. Bestuzhev wrote to Nicholas I from the Peter and Paul Fortress: “... Napoleon invaded Russia, and then the Russian people for the first time felt their strength; then a feeling of independence awakened in all hearts, first political, and later popular. This is the beginning of freethinking in Russia.” And according to Herzen, “only 1812 opens the true history of Russia; everything that happened before is just a preface.

It is not known what the consequences would have been and how Russian patriotism would have developed if Napoleon's Russian campaign had been more successful then. Only one thing seems certain - and in this case, people's patriotism would be needed to "digest" the "freedom" brought by a foreigner. Perhaps history would have gone differently, but without popular patriotism, for sure, it would have gone without the participation of the country, which to this day is called Russia.

Yes, of course, patriotism in an exploitative society is contradictory. Or rather, not patriotism itself, but its concept. It is only important to understand that it exists and its rise plays a progressive role to a much greater extent than a reactionary one. The fact is that the exploiting power is only capable of using popular patriotism for its own purposes, of manipulating it more or less successfully. And only in the masses themselves can patriotism give birth to a progressive storm. As long as there are fatherlands, this storm will simply be born nowhere else.

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10 comments

Sidor Reaper 24.06.2012 11:06

> It is known that it was the victory in 1812, achieved thanks to the rise of the national spirit, that caused the desire for free-thinking in Russia, under its influence, the ideology of the noble revolutionaries-the Decembrists, who in 1825 raised an uprising, began to take shape.

> Leo Tolstoy, who, according to Lenin, "the mirror of the Russian revolution", in "War and Peace" gave Decembrism a somewhat simplified, but much more witty explanation: "Society can not be secret, if the government allows it. Not only is it not hostile to the government, but it is a society of true conservatives. Society of gentlemen in the full sense of the word. We only so that tomorrow Pugachev does not come to slaughter both my and your children and so that Arakcheev does not send me to a military settlement - we only take hand in hand for this, with one goal of the common good and common security.

The ideology of the Decembrists was formed under the influence of the ideas of the French Enlightenment (which arose long before Napoleon - and penetrated into Russia long before Napoleon, and even before the French Revolution) and ... local practice (in fact, the "European-minded" nobility was between the hammer of tsarist terror ["Arakcheev "] and the anvil of peasant revenge ["Pugachev"]). The war of 1812 gave them combat experience (absolutely invaluable, of course), but to say that this war created the ideology of Decembrism would be a big mistake.

> Yes, of course, patriotism in an exploitative society is controversial.

In an exploitative society, PATRIOTISM (love for "one's own" state, which should be distinguished from natural human love for the Motherland) is not contradictory, but quite reactionary in nature. Moreover, this applies both to the top (although what kind of “patriotism” they have ...) and to the bottom (there is absolutely nothing good in the readiness to “sacrifice oneself” for the sake of the bourgeois “Fatherland”; and if in wartime this can still have some - some positive value [or maybe not have] - then in peacetime such readiness only helps the reactionaries to pursue a policy of "belt-tightening", "for the sake of the Fatherland"). By the way, the example of so-called “Soviet patriotism” is indicative, which consists in the fact that some intellectuals now not only TRANSFER their (quite correct) attitude towards the Soviet Union to CURRENT (bourgeois) Russia, but also advise the working people to do the same; such patriotism is the basis of “anti-orangeism”, which poisons the minds of not only the followers of Kurginyan, but also very, very many representatives of the leftist public.

Of course, there are no rules without exceptions. Even in an exploitative society, patriotism can SOMETIMES have a positive impact, make people want to fight for the "improvement" of the state they love (up to turning it into a proletarian dictatorship).

> And only among the masses themselves patriotism can give birth to a progressive storm. As long as there are fatherlands, this storm will simply be born nowhere else.

In general, usually such storms are born from the indignation of the masses against the oppression under which they live. This indignation, often, has nothing to do with patriotism - moreover, patriotic feelings are often used to make workers forget about their oppression and "tighten their belts for the sake of the Fatherland."

+100 25.06.2012 11:07

for Sidor the Reaper Themselves understand what you are writing ??? June 24, 1812 the French attacked the Motherland or the state? How should the people act from your point of view: to defend the Motherland or not to defend the state - to surrender to the French, since the means of production are in the hands of the exploiters?

Vasily, Gorky 25.06.2012 17:30

Sidor the Reaper beat me to it.
“The proletarians have no homeland,” Marx said of the bourgeois state. “We are defeatists,” said Comrade Lenin about the position of the Bolsheviks before the October Revolution. Yes, the losing side suffers more losses than the winning side, including in manpower. But the defeat in the war of tsarist Russia shook the autocracy, and these victims fell on the altar of the victory of the revolution (they are laid down even more in peacetime, but stretched out for decades). Therefore, the next Lenin's call went on - "Let's turn the Imperialist war into a Civil war, peace to huts - war to palaces."
What colossal sacrifices the working people of Russia have suffered over the past 20 years, according to various estimates, 15-25 million people, and how much more they will suffer, because of the fear of revolutionary blood. Blood is not without excesses, but the longer this abscess matures, the greater the likelihood of kinks.

Sidor Reaper 27.06.2012 11:17

100
> for Sidor Reaper Themselves understand what you are writing???

For the state, of course. Or is there evidence that they were going to burn all our birch trees, ban the use of the Russian language and send all Russians to concentration camps?

> What was the people to do from your point of view: to defend the Motherland or not to defend the state-surrender to the French, as the means of production are in the hands of the exploiters?

And what does this have to do with it?))) The opportunity to take away the means of production from the exploiters BARELY appeared in 1917 - in 1812 it did not exist.

The French should have surrendered if they had brought with them the abolition of serfdom and the destruction of the autocracy. Since they were not going to abolish serfdom, they were going to replace the Russian autocracy with French autocracy - that is, the prospect of being under double oppression opened up before the Russian peasants - it was necessary to act as the Russians did, i.e. expel the French from their land. But, of course, then it was necessary not to go “liberate Europe” (it is not clear from what), but to overthrow the autocracy. The people did not do this, and this was his big mistake)

+100 27.06.2012 15:02

for Sidor the Reaper.. For the state, of course. Or there is evidence that they were going to burn all our birch trees, prohibit the use of the Russian language and send all Russians to concentration camps ... Motherland is not only birch trees and concentration camps - it is churches, houses, families, relatives, relatives, friends, the Orthodox faith. If bandits attack your house, you won't ask them about their ideological views, will you? you just go to protect it, because it's your home. And if they promised to abolish serfdom and destroy the autocracy, would it be possible to surrender? NATO members "promised" to liberate Iraq from Hussein's dictatorship and establish true democracy in the country, and at first the local population greeted them with flowers - as liberators, which the "liberators" brought to everyone is known .. In an exploitative society, PATRIOTISM (love for "one's" state, which should be distinguished from natural human love for the Motherland) is not contradictory, but quite reactionary in nature ... ... such patriotism is the basis of "anti-orangeism", which poisons the consciousness of not only Kurginyan's followers, but also very, very many representatives of the leftist public ... - this is your opinion , but there is another opinion that differs from yours.: ... All people, regardless of their civic views and political guidelines, need to understand: "non-violent resistance", the protest movement of the non-systemic opposition is a new form of overthrowing the government. This is a modern form of war, pursuing the same goals as the wars of former times - the destruction of enemy power and the establishment of its own. Now enemy soldiers are citizens of the victim country. Inspired by abstract goals, they, like cancer cells, must destroy their own state system, sabotage the army and the police, destroy the economy - they themselves must kill their country ... Participation in any actions of the non-systemic, orange opposition - attending their rallies and marches, wearing protest symbols, agitation for these actions, etc. - this is not only an expression of personal civic position - it is an active participation in the destruction of the country. The war now has these forms and every orange demonstrator is an accomplice of the enemy occupation ... .h_ttp://moskprf.ru/stati/eto-voyna.html And there is irrefutable evidence that this particular point of view, and not yours, is right.

+100 27.06.2012 16:40

about the atrocities of the French: ... “Napoleon committed atrocities in our land no less than Hitler. He just had less time, only six months. The phrase of this herald of European values ​​\u200b\u200bis known: “For victory, it is necessary that a simple soldier not only hate his opponents, but also despise them. Officers retold propaganda about the barbarism of the Slavic peoples to Napoleon's soldiers. Since then, the idea of ​​Russians as a second-rate, wild nation has been consciously entrenched in the minds of Europeans. Monasteries were destroyed, architectural monuments were blown up. The altars of Moscow churches were deliberately turned into stables and latrines. Priests who did not give out church shrines were killed with a fierce death, nuns were raped, and stoves were kindled with ancient icons. At the same time, the soldiers knew for sure that they had come to a barbaric wild country and that they were bringing into it the best culture in the world - European. The banal robbery began even from the distant approaches to Moscow. In Belarus and Lithuania, soldiers destroyed orchards and orchards, killed livestock, and destroyed crops. Moreover, there was no military need for this, it was just an act of intimidation. As Evgeny Tarle wrote: “The ruin of the peasants by the passing army of the conqueror, countless marauders and simply robbing French deserters was so great that hatred of the enemy grew every day.”
The real robbery and horror began on September 3, 1812 - the day after entering Moscow, when officially, by order, it was allowed to rob the city. Numerous Moscow monasteries were completely ruined. Soldiers tore off silver salaries from icons, collected lampadas, crosses. For the convenience of viewing, they blew up the Church of John the Baptist, which stood next to the Novodevichy Convent. In the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery, the invaders set up a slaughterhouse, and the cathedral church was turned into a butcher's shop. The entire monastery churchyard was covered with caked blood, and in the cathedral on chandeliers and on nails hammered into the iconostasis hung pieces of meat and the entrails of animals. In the Andronievsky, Intercession, and Znamensky monasteries, French soldiers chopped icons for firewood, the faces of saints were used as targets for shooting. In the Danilov Monastery, they stripped the shrine of Prince Daniel and tore off the clothes from the thrones. In the Mozhaisk Luzhetsky Monastery, the icon of St. John the Baptist kept here has traces of a knife - the French used it as a cutting board, chopped meat on it. From the historical relics of the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, located on the territory of the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery, almost nothing remained. The bed of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was burned, expensive chairs were stripped, mirrors were broken, stoves were broken, rare portraits of Peter the Great and Princess Sophia were stolen.
Hieromonk of the Znamensky Monastery Pavel and priest of the St. George Monastery Ioann Alekseev were killed. The priest of the Church of the Forty Saints, Peter Velmyaninov, was beaten with rifle butts, stabbed with bayonets and sabers for not giving them the keys to the church. All night he lay on the street, bleeding, and in the morning a French officer passing by mercifully shot Father Peter. The monks of the Novospassky Monastery buried the priest, but the French then dug up his grave three times: when they saw fresh soil, they thought that they had buried a treasure in this place. in a cart. These are just touches on the behavior of the invaders. The whole truth is even scarier. What the already doomed invaders were doing, retreating, does not lend itself to common sense at all. Depraved French officers forced peasant women to perform oral sex, which for many girls and women was then worse than death. Those who disagreed with the rules of the French kiss were killed, some deliberately went to death, biting their teeth into the flesh of the invaders. Good Russian man. Sometimes even redundant. Apparently, and therefore a huge part of Napoleon's troops remained in Russia just to live. For different reasons. Most of the Russian people helped for Christ's sake, picking them up frostbitten and hungry. Since then, the word "sharomyzhnik" appeared in Russia - from the French "cher ami" (dear friend). They became janitors, porters. The educated became teachers of French. We remember them very well by their numerous uncles, tutors, who appeared in Russian literature after 1812. ), Mashanovs, Zhanbrovs. The Bergs and Schmidts, with numerous children, were also mostly Napoleonic German soldiers. The fate of Nikolai Andreevich Savin, or Jean Baptiste Saven, a former lieutenant of the 2nd Guards Regiment of the 3rd Corps of the army of Marshal Ney, a participant in the Egyptian campaigns, Austerlitz, is interesting and at the same time typical. The last soldier of that Great Army. He died surrounded by numerous offspring in 1894, having lived to be 126 years old. He taught at the Saratov gymnasium for over 60 years. Until the end of his days, he retained clarity of mind and remembered that one of his students was none other than Nikolai Chernyshevsky. He recalled a very characteristic episode, how Platov's Cossacks captured him. Excited, Platov immediately punched him in the face, then ordered him to drink vodka so as not to freeze, feed him and send him to a warm convoy so that the captive would not catch a cold. And then constantly inquired about his health. This was the attitude in Russia towards the defeated enemy. Therefore, they remained in Russia in tens of thousands ...

N.T. 27.06.2012 18:13

Do you know that Napoleon was thinking about abolishing serfdom in Russia? And most likely, this would have happened if he had captured Russia. After all, there was no longer any serfdom in Europe. By the way, Russian soldiers, having passed through Europe in their foreign campaign, saw it all ...

athlete 31.10.2013 03:50

The article is disgusting! As soon as an attempt to explain historical events from the point of view of Marxism begins, lies immediately begin. The Napoleonic Wars were aggressive from the very beginning. And Napoleon was defeated in Russia. The military events of 1813-14 represented only the finishing off of Napoleon, including at Waterloo, when not only the German but also the forty-thousandth Russian corps was in a hurry to help the British.

athlete 31.10.2013 04:05

Russophobes seek to downplay the role of Russia in the victory over Napoleon, including on the Ekho Moskvy radio, when the military events of 1813-14 are announced as the victory of joint forces over Napoleon, Napoleon was defeated in Russia. Further, he was only finished off by the so-called joint efforts.

The key to successful warfare is the presence of national harmony in society. War reveals the strength of the moral and psychological spirit of the people.

Popular spontaneous demonstrations in support of Serbia immediately began in Russian cities in response to the introduction in Russia on July 13, 1914 of the Regulations on the preparatory period for war in connection with the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on the Serbian state and the bombardment of Belgrade. For example, Kaluga residents massively expressed their solidarity with the Serbian people for two days in a row, on July 16 and 17 (hereinafter, the dates are given according to the old style). The wish for victory to the Serbian people was demonstrated by a 10,000-strong demonstration that took place on the same days in Tula.

The Russian press promptly informed about the most important events in the world and within the country. The newspapers were also quick to report on the speeches of Russian citizens who showed their solidarity with the authorities over the aggressive actions of Austria-Hungary, and announced the collection of funds for the needs of the Serbs. It should be noted that even earlier international events, especially those that in one way or another affected the interests of Russia, for example, the Bosnian crisis of 1908, the conflict over the mission of Liman von Sanders in 1913-1914, thanks to the Russian periodical press, did not remain without the attention of citizens.

Mass patriotic actions continued after the publication of the tsarist Manifestos of July 20 and 26 on the state of war between Russia and Germany and Austria-Hungary, in which the people were called to defend the Fatherland and allied Serbia, and also in connection with the message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of July 20 “On the events last days," which spoke of the German ultimatum presented to Russia, and the subsequent declaration of war on us. The tsarist manifestos and the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were printed in all the newspapers, they were also distributed in the form of announcements. The Holy Synod, in turn, appealed to its children with a call to protect their brothers in faith and “to stand up for the glory of the Tsar, for the honor of the Motherland”, as well as for unity and courage in a time of trials. Archpastors and shepherds were called upon to support the people's love for the Fatherland. Monasteries, churches and the Orthodox flock were called upon to make donations in favor of the wounded and sick soldiers, families called up for war, to allocate premises for hospitals, and also to train people to care for the wounded and sick soldiers. In all churches, it was ordered to establish special circles in favor of the Red Cross.

With the outbreak of the war, the Committee of People's Publications was established, which, through the country's network of people's houses and universities, workers' clubs, cultural and educational societies, and Sunday schools, sent free printed publications on military-patriotic topics, for example, such as "The Great War", "Russian Soldier", "Care for Soldiers' Families" and many others. District marshals of the nobility, zemstvo chiefs, clergy and other officials participated in the distribution of this literature. The Holy Synod published in large numbers popular essays and stories about the outbreak of war, “God is not in power, but in truth,” addressed to schools and the people.

As you can see, the citizens of Russia were informed about the defensive nature of the war, about who attacked Russia and what to fight for. During this period, the press recorded an unprecedented all-class upsurge of patriotic sentiments.

The protest moods of workers throughout the country gave way to a mood to fight the external enemy. For example, in workers' Bryansk on July 21, 15,000 workers took part in a patriotic demonstration. Eyewitness of the events, Russian public and political figure, historian, publicist and philosopher P.B. Struve noted in November 1914: “The war teaches us patriotism more than any preaching. We felt ourselves in the war as a nation and a state, Russians and Russia.”

With the announcement of general mobilization, reserve ranks and warriors of the 1st category, transferred to the militia from the reserve, arrived at the recruiting stations, in numbers, as a rule, more than planned. Premises were prepared for their reception, quartering, places for eating. The supply of horses, wagons and harnesses to the troops was in full swing. Until the end of 1914, three more conscriptions of soldiers successfully passed. These were warriors of the militia of the 1st category, who did not perform military service, in addition, in October, the annual call-up of recruits was held at the scheduled time.

Wives, children and other disabled family members of mobilized reserve and warriors of the 1st category were paid food allowances (rations) from the treasury. For state and zemstvo employees, wages were kept, which were paid to families. The amount of the allowance from the beginning of the war until December 1, 1914 was 2 rubles. 82 kop. (and 1 rub. 41 kopecks for each child under 5 years old) per month.

In September 1914, a procedure was developed for rewarding persons who “really rendered merit to the cause of the brilliant mobilization this year”, at the beginning of 1915 the medal “For the excellent performance of the general mobilization of 1914” was established. The awarding of the last military medal of the imperial period became massive, both direct participants in the mobilization work on the ground and planners as part of this large-scale event were awarded.

The local handicraft industry already in 1914 carried out military orders. As a result, by the end of the year, sheepskin coats, warm cloth jackets, boots, and other clothing and transport equipment were made and sent to the army. In order to ensure a reliable supply of the army, the number of which has increased significantly, from the 1914-1915 agricultural year, the grain-producing provinces began to supply grain to the state at fixed prices, in contrast to the pre-war period, when the state did not deal with this issue.

Seeing off to the army in provincial and district centers was accompanied by processions and rallies, at first spontaneous, and then organized. People carried flags, portraits of the emperor.

The participants in the processions repeatedly sang the anthem "God save the Tsar!", The orchestra played. Representatives of the military and civil authorities, the clergy were present at the crowded organized solemn farewell. The events were accompanied by a prayer service for the health of the emperor and the granting of victory to the Russian.

With the outbreak of war, volunteers began to turn to military commanders who wanted to join the ranks of the army in the field. In connection with this, educational institutions of the Ministry of Public Education in October 1914 were allowed to "produce tests" under the program for volunteers of the II category who wished to enter the military service. And such work was immediately launched. Newspapers wrote about young citizens of Russia who wanted to be involved in the events that unfolded on the fronts of the Great War.

An effective form of patriotism, in addition to volunteering, was the participation of the broad masses in charitable activities in favor of those drafted into the army, their families, wounded and sick soldiers with the direct participation of governors and other officials. All class societies, including peasant ones, collected donations. Warm clothes, medicines, canvas, soap, tobacco, tea, sugar, food and many other things were sent to the military units that went to the front. By the Christmas holiday of 1914, additional gifts were sent. At the same time, the soldiers who were treated in local hospitals and infirmaries were not forgotten. Tea parties were organized for them, concerts, performances, film screenings, New Year's Eve were organized. After Christmas, donations began to be collected and mass charity events were held in order to purchase gifts for the next big holiday - Easter.

Until the end of 1914, Emperor Nicholas II toured the provinces of European Russia and the Caucasus region in order to raise funds for military needs. The Kursk Zemstvo donated 1 million rubles, the nobility - 75 thousand, the peasantry - 60 thousand. In Tula, the nobility gave the emperor 40,000 rubles.

In Orel, the peasant deputation assured the tsar of their readiness to give the army grain from their stocks and, if necessary, everything, to the last grain.

In Voronezh, the Zemstvo and the nobility donated 25,000 rubles each, the city - 10,000 rubles, and the merchants - 17,000. In Ryazan, the zemstvo and the nobility gave the sovereign 10 thousand rubles each, as well as honey, linen and other products.

When the first wounded in August 1914 began to arrive in the rear provinces in an amount that the existing medical network was not able to accommodate, the help of the population was urgently required. People with great enthusiasm took part in unloading, carrying and transporting the wounded, they provided rooms for the wounded in their homes, collected dressings and medicines, underwear, money, were on duty for the sick free of charge, and were engaged in equipping infirmaries under the guidance of specialists. So, in the Oryol province, the peasants of the Lavrovskaya volost of the Oryol district collected 6 thousand rubles by November 1914. for the treatment of the wounded in the infirmary named after their volost, opened by them, with 40 beds. Oryol provincial zemstvo contributed 100 thousand rubles. for the equipment of the hospital at the provincial zemstvo hospital. In with. An infirmary for 20 beds was opened in Myatlev, Medynsky district, Kaluga province, for the maintenance of which, by subscription, the necessary funds were collected from the residents of Myatlev. The premises for the infirmary were provided free of charge by the merchant M.V. Arefiev. Only with the effective help of citizens, to whom the governors turned for assistance, a reliable system of assistance to the wounded and sick soldiers was created at the optimum time. The front-line soldiers, evacuated to the rear, from the first days felt universal care and attention to their needs.

Some of the established medical institutions were subsequently maintained exclusively or partially on charitable funds. In hospitals and infirmaries, personal beds were kept by private individuals, estate and joint-stock companies, and institutions.

For example, in Kaluga, one of the first to declare readiness to maintain beds for the wounded was a merchant of the 2nd guild, personal honorary citizen M.M. Fisher. Governor's wife A.E. Gorchakova expressed the same wish in memory of her son, cornet V.S. Gorchakov, who died in the first days of the war.
In the city first hospital of Kaluga, the prisoners of the provincial prison, the ranks of the Kaluga Chamber of Control, pupils of the women's teacher's seminary, and the private real school F.M. Shakhmagonova, N.V. Terenin. In Zemsky hospital No. 1 there were 6 nominal beds, of which 3 were in the Przemysl district zemstvo, one was in memory of Prince. V.S. Gorchakov, employees of the Kaluga real school and a deputy of the IV State Duma from the Kaluga province N.N. Yanovsky. In the counties, personalized beds were also kept by representatives of the highest nobility, such as Count S.L. Palen and Prince. Z.N. Yusupov, and rural guardianships, and students, and peasants, and various societies and associations.

Everywhere, for the training of auxiliary medical personnel, local committees of the All-Russian Zemsky Union, with the assistance of medical societies, announced recruitment for free courses in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers and in training sanitizers-disinfectors. Moreover, the number of people wishing to attend courses was much more than the officially announced enrollment.

The Russian Orthodox Church also contributed to the care of the wounded. By October 10, 1914, the Moscow Diocese opened 90 infirmaries for 1200 places. In the Russian provinces in August 1914, under the Spiritual consistories, "Temporary committees were formed to assist the wounded and sick soldiers and families of persons called up for war." The committees implemented the idea of ​​organizing infirmaries in provincial and district cities at the personal expense of the diocesan clergy. Dioceses throughout the country began to make deductions from their income: 1 and 2% of the profitability of churches, clergy and salaries of the clergy. In addition, each church in 1914 donated 50 rubles for war-related needs. Parish schools collected donations in money, things and food. So, in November 1914, the Ilyinsky parochial school of the Kozelsky district of the Kaluga province sent to the front two bales of warm clothes, linen, tobacco products and a letter with the following content: “Glorious, mighty and swift-winged our eagles - fathers and brothers! We send you from your dear homeland various underwear to strengthen new, unshakable forces, to crush the age-old Russian enemy - the damned German. Forward, our fathers and brothers. Behind you are a solid wall - your children! Go ahead! Hooray!".

It should be noted that representatives of all religious denominations and currents of the multinational Russian Empire took an active part in the charity work: Muslims, Catholics and Protestants, Buddhists, Jews, Old Believers, etc.

With the outbreak of the war, the governors headed all local public committees created to help the army and all the victims of the war, incl. local departments of the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK), provincial trustee committees for sick and wounded soldiers. Along with the governors, these committees included representatives of zemstvo and city administrations. Charity has been an integral part of the activities of the ROKK since its founding in 1867, it has also become an integral part of the activities of all committees created in the province in connection with the war. By order of the governors in September 1914, within the provinces and regions, donations were collected "money and things" in favor of the Red Cross Society to help the wounded and sick soldiers, in addition, the population was urged to continue to participate in replenishing the spent stocks of linen and dressings of the society Red Cross. The Red Cross Society began to transfer income from the reproduction and sale of messages from the Russian Telegraph Agency on the course of hostilities. Spouses of governors, as a rule, headed the Ladies' Committees for helping the wounded and sick soldiers, which received monthly deductions from wages and other donations.

With the outbreak of the First World War, All-Russian charitable organizations arose, which, along with the ROCK, took upon themselves assistance to victims of military disasters. The Supreme Council for the care of the families of military officials called up for war was headed by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Emperor Nicholas II patronized the Society for Assistance to Soldiers and Their Families Affected in the War.

Throughout the war, the royal family spent 20 million pounds sterling of its own funds, stored in a London bank, for charity.
Almost all representatives of the House of Romanov headed wartime charitable organizations: the Committee for Temporary Assistance to Victims of Military Disasters - led. Princess Tatyana Nikolaevna; Committee for Assistance to the Families of Persons Called for Military Service - the sister of the Empress led. book. Elizabeth Feodorovna; Committee for the supply of clothes to soldiers sent from medical institutions to their homeland - led. book. Maria Pavlovna, etc.

All-Russian charitable organizations created in connection with the war opened their branches in the provinces, in addition, at the initiative of local governments and individuals, local-level charitable organizations arose. With a proposal to expand charitable activities in the provinces, the Skobelev Committee addressed the governors in 1914 to issue benefits to soldiers who had lost their ability to work in the war at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in St. Petersburg. The Committee became the initiator of monetary deductions from the monthly maintenance of employees. Employees of various institutions, enterprises, factories, factories, zemstvo and city governments, teachers of educational institutions, and many others voluntarily deducted interest from their wages. etc. Deductions depended on the size of their salaries. If the annual income did not exceed 600 rubles, 2% was deducted, 1800 rubles. - 3%, over 1800 - 4%. For example, employees of the Kaluga provincial presence on military service from August 1914 to March 1917 deducted 2% of the allowance received to support the families of those drafted into the army. The funds were sent to the Supreme Council for the charity of the families of military officials called up for war, under the chairmanship of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. All charitable organizations were engaged in collecting donations in money, things, products, which were clothed in various forms: mug fees, subscription lists, lotteries and bazaars, numerous cultural events. The dates of the all-Russian charitable gatherings were communicated to the governors in advance, and they themselves gave permission for holding charitable events at the local level.

The local press informed residents about the dates of mass charitable actions, reported on their results, explained how the collected funds would be spent, and placed on their pages thanks to those who received material and moral support.
The editorial offices also acted as intermediaries, collecting donations from citizens to transfer them to charitable organizations. All class societies collected donations for the "needs of the war": merchants, nobles, petty bourgeois, peasant volost gatherings. Rural societies drew up sentences on donations of bread to the army from their stocks. During the war years, the organizational side of charity underwent changes, which was expressed, first of all, in the mass approach of the "philistine" to participate in charitable activities, which became an important component of the social life of the war period.

Part of the daily life of Russian citizens during the war period were prayers and religious processions in honor of Russian weapons, commemoration of fallen soldiers. So, on the occasion of the capture of the Austrian cities of Lvov and Galich by the Russian army in August 1914, religious processions were made in the provinces with “a prayer of thanksgiving for granting victory to Russian weapons and health to the Sovereign, the Supreme Commander, the entire reigning house and the all-Russian victorious army.”

A mass expression of the involvement of the rear in the ongoing events at the front was congratulatory messages to the emperor, members of the imperial family, the Supreme Commander, soldiers of the army in the field, deputies of the State Duma with an expression of loyal feelings, congratulations on the victories won. They were sent by both individuals and organizations, institutions, rural and volost gatherings, parishioners of churches, groups of artisans, workers, etc.

The performance of the national anthem was accompanied by film screenings, concerts and theatrical performances. A typical example is a performance in favor of families called up for war, organized on August 24, 1914 by amateur artists from one of the county towns of the Russian Empire - Mosalsk, Kaluga province. Before the start, the local police officer addressed the public with a speech in which he told "about the last victories of our valiant troops in Galicia." "Hurray for the sovereign emperor!" was taken up by those present. Then the united choirs of the singers of Mosalsk and the village of Ivonin performed the anthem several times, and the audience each time proclaimed “Hurrah!” at the end. The hall was decorated with the national flags of the Allied Powers, Japan and "heroic" Belgium. The sale of flowers, flags and badges for the right to smoke was arranged. It became popular to assign the names of famous military leaders to various institutions whose activities were related to the needs of defense.

Events at the fronts worried everyone in Russia. The press, focusing on existing moods, tried to provide information of interest to the population as quickly as possible.
The periodical press played a decisive role in shaping public opinion. Since the 90s 19th century newspapers were dominated by privately funded dailies that dealt with issues that mattered to millions of "new readers" from the working and peasant milieu. In addition, at least 2 official periodicals were published in each province - these were provincial and diocesan journals. Newspapers were subscribed not only by townspeople, but also by rural and volost governments, rural clergy and individual peasants. In terms of the number and circulation of newspapers and magazines, Russia was not inferior to such European powers as England, France and Germany. With the outbreak of the First World War, the circulation of almost all newspapers increased by 2-3 times. Newspapers sold out in 1-2 hours. The current events of the war, named in the press as the Second Patriotic War, immediately became its main topic. Gubernskiye Vedomosti regularly published lists of dead, wounded and missing local natives.

With the outbreak of the war, the authorities considered it expedient to evict enemy subjects and Germans of Russian citizenship from the front-line regions to the rear provinces. A significant part of the population believed that ethnic Germans wanted the defeat of Russia. So, in the rear provinces, the workers did not want to see them at industrial enterprises, and employees - in trading establishments, and the peasants showed the same attitude towards German estate managers.

In 1914, a wave of renaming cities, streets, trading establishments and replacing German surnames with Russians swept across the country.

Beneficial to the Germans, i.e. hostile, the population considered the anti-war agitation of left-wing radical elements, and the agitators - German spies. For this reason, attempts to provoke violations of public order during military conscription in 1914 by local representatives of the Bolshevik Party, whose plans included unleashing a Civil War in Russia, were not successful. With the outbreak of the war, the socialists also tried to use the tactics of propagating revolutionary ideas in the so-called "legal" way, i.e. using the platform of permitted non-political organizations. However, their very first speech there usually became the last, not finding a response from the members of these organizations. At that time, people responded to completely different initiatives related to raising funds for military needs, with the organization of infirmaries for sick and wounded soldiers.

Thus, from the very beginning of the war, the majority of the Russian population, realizing the colossal scope of the armed struggle and responding to the call of the authorities, considered it their duty to participate in the common cause of overcoming the enemy. The province became the main source of replenishment of the human, food and material resources of the army. In addition, the patriotism of the population found its expression in mass charitable activities in favor of the defenders of the fatherland who were in the ranks of the troops, their families, wounded and sick soldiers.

The speech of Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad and Novgorod at the Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexy (Simansky)

The patriotism of the Russian people is known to the whole world. According to the special properties of the Russian people, it bears the special character of the deepest, ardent love for the motherland. This love can only be compared with love for a mother, with the most tender care for her. It seems that in no language next to the word "motherland" is the word "mother" put, as we do.

We say not just motherland, but mother - motherland; and how much deep meaning is in this combination of the two most precious words for a person!

A Russian person is infinitely attached to his fatherland, which is dearer to him than all the countries of the world. He is especially characterized by homesickness, about which he has a constant thought, a constant dream. When the homeland is in danger, then this love flares up especially in the heart of a Russian person. He is ready to give all his strength to protect her; he is eager to fight for her honor, inviolability and integrity and shows selfless courage, complete contempt for death. Not only as a duty, a sacred duty, he looks at the cause of her protection, but it is an irresistible command of the heart, a rush of love that he is unable to stop, which he must exhaust to the end.

Prince Dimitry Donskoy

Countless examples from our native history are an illustration of this feeling of love for the homeland of a Russian person. I recall the difficult time of the Tatar yoke, which weighed over Russia for about three hundred years. Russia is destroyed. Its main centers have been destroyed. Batu crushed Ryazan; incinerated Vladimir on the Klyazma; defeated the Russian army on the City River and went to Kyiv. It was with difficulty that the prudent leaders, the princes of Russia, held back the impulse of the people, who were not accustomed to slavery and were eager to free themselves from the chains. The time has not yet come. But here is one of the successors of Batu, the fierce Mamai, with ever-increasing cruelty, is trying to finally crush the Russian land. The time has come for a final and decisive struggle. Prince Dimitry Donskoy goes to the Trinity Monastery to St. Sergius (of Radonezh) for advice and blessing. And the Monk Sergius gives him not only firm advice, but also a blessing to go to Mamai, predicting success in his work, and releases with him two monks - Peresvet and Oslyabya, two heroes, to help the soldiers. We know from history with what selfless love for the suffering homeland the Russian people went to battle. And in the famous Battle of Kulikovo, although with enormous casualties, Mamai was defeated, and the liberation of Russia from the Tatar yoke began. So the invincible power of the love of the Russian people for their homeland, their universal irresistible will to see Russia free overcame a strong and cruel enemy who seemed invincible.

Prince Alexander Nevsky

The struggle and victory of St. Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes at Ladoga, over the German knight dogs in the famous Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi, when the Teutonic army was completely defeated. Finally, the era of the Patriotic War with Napoleon, famous in Russian history, dreamed of conquering all peoples and daring to encroach on the Russian state. By the providence of God, he was allowed to reach Moscow itself, to strike the heart of Russia, as if only to show the whole world what the Russian people are capable of when the fatherland is in danger and when almost superhuman strength is needed to save it. We know only a very few names of these countless patriotic heroes who gave all their blood, to the last drop, for the fatherland.

At that time there was not a single corner in the Russian land where help to the motherland would not come from. And the defeat of the brilliant commander was the beginning of his complete fall and the destruction of all his bloodthirsty plans.

One can find an analogy between the historical situation of that time and the present. And now the Russian people, in unparalleled unity and with an exceptional impulse of patriotism, are fighting against a strong enemy who dreams of crushing the whole world and barbarously sweeping away in its path everything valuable that the world has created over the centuries of progressive work of all mankind.

This struggle is not only a struggle for their homeland, which is in great danger, but, one might say, for the entire civilized world, over which the sword of destruction is raised. And just as then, in the era of Napoleon, it was the Russian people who were destined to free the world from the madness of a tyrant, so now our people have the lofty mission of delivering humanity from the atrocities of fascism, restoring freedom to enslaved countries and establishing peace everywhere, so brazenly violated by fascism. The Russian people are advancing towards this holy goal with complete selflessness. Daily<…>there are news of the successes of Russian weapons and of the gradual disintegration in the fascist camp. This success is achieved by indescribable tension and unprecedented feats of our amazing defenders amid the unceasing rumble of guns, amid the terrible whistle of hellish shells, the disturbing, insidious sounds of which no one who heard them will forget, in an atmosphere where death hovers, where everything speaks of the suffering of living human souls.

But victory is forged not only at the front, it is born in the rear, among civilians. And here we see an extraordinary upsurge and the will to win, an unshakable confidence in the triumph of truth, in the fact that “God is not in power, but in truth,” as St. Alexander Nevskiy.

In the rear, which under the current conditions of the war is almost the same front, and the elderly, and women, and even teenage children - everyone is actively involved in the defense of their native country.

One can point to innumerable cases when people who, it would seem, have absolutely no part in the war and hostilities, show themselves to be the most ardent accomplices of the belligerents. I will point out a few examples. An air raid alert has been issued in the city. Ignoring the danger, not only men, but also women and teenagers rush to take part in protecting their homes from bombs. They cannot be kept in the house, they cannot be driven into a shelter. With me, one 12-year-old schoolboy, at the request of his mother - not to go to the roof during the air raid - told her with conviction that he could put out bombs better than an adult, that his father was protecting his homeland, and he must protect the house and his mother. And in fact, this young patriot was ahead of many adults and put out four bombs in a few days. There are so many examples when young and, conversely, elderly people try to hide their years so that they can be enrolled as volunteers in the Red Army. One old man in my presence wept bitter tears, because he was denied entry as a volunteer and thus deprived of the opportunity to contribute his share in defense of the fatherland. This is the will to win, which is the key to victory itself. And here's another example from real life. A man comes out of the temple and gives alms to an old beggar woman. She tells him: "Thank you, father, I will pray for you and for God to help defeat the bloody enemy - Hitler." Isn't that also the will to win?

And here is the mother who saw her son - a pilot to the Southern Front and then found out that it was on this front that there were hot battles. She is sure that her son is dead, but she subordinates the feeling of maternal grief to the feeling of love for the motherland and, having cried out her grief in the temple of God, she says almost with joy: “God helped me to contribute my share of help to the motherland.” I know more than one case when people with the most insignificant means set aside a ruble each to contribute to the needs of defense. One deep old man sold his only valuable thing - a watch, in order to make a sacrifice on his own for defense.

All these are facts taken by chance from life, but how much they say about the feeling of love for the motherland, about the will to win! And there are many such cases, they are before our eyes, and they speak louder than any words about the invincible power of patriotism that has gripped the entire Russian people in these days of trials. They speak of the fact that the entire nation has truly risen both actively and spiritually against the enemy. And when all the people have risen, they are invincible.

As in the time of Demetrius of the Don, St. Alexander Nevsky, as in the era of the struggle of the Russian people with Napoleon, the victory of the Russian people was due not only to the patriotism of the Russian people, but also to their deep faith in God's help to a just cause; just as then both the Russian army and the entire Russian people were overshadowed by the cover of the Chosen Voivode, the Mother of God, and the blessing of the saints of God was accompanied, so now we believe: all the heavenly army is with us. Not for any of our merits before God, we are worthy of this heavenly help, but for those exploits, for the suffering that every Russian patriot bears in his heart for his beloved motherland.

We believe that even now the great intercessor for the Russian land, Sergius, extends his help and his blessing to the Russian soldiers. And this faith gives us all new inexhaustible strength for a stubborn and tireless struggle. And no matter what horrors befall us in this struggle, we will be unshakable in our faith in the final victory of truth over lies and evil, in the final victory over the enemy. We see an example of this faith in the final triumph of truth, not in words, but in deeds, in the unprecedented deeds of our valiant defenders-fighters who fight and die for our homeland. They seem to be telling us all: we were given a great deed, we courageously took it upon ourselves and preserved our loyalty to the motherland to the end. Among all the trials, among all the horrors of war, which have not been since the time that the world stands, we did not flinch in our souls. We stood up for the honor and happiness of our native land and fearlessly gave our lives for it. And, dying, we give you a covenant to love your homeland more than life, and, when someone's turn comes, to stand up for it to the end and defend it.

It is hard to imagine, but in Russia at that time the world war was initially presented as a continuation of the long-term struggle for the freedom of the fraternal Slavic peoples. The situation in the capital of the empire escalated gradually: throughout the year, the streets were regularly filled with noisy demonstrations - with icons, national flags and slogans "Down with the Swabians!", "Long live Serbia!". "Slavic dinners" and solemn prayers were arranged. Oh yes, in those days a gala dinner was quite a convenient way to express public opinion. They, dinners, could be both loyal subjects and opposition. The dinner was much safer than the demonstration: it was not dispersed by the Cossacks.

In recent years, the workers' outskirts were restless, but in the 14th strikes almost ceased in factories and factories. Politicians, who until recently were ready to grab each other's throats, shook hands. Kerensky and Milyukov, Purishkevich and Plekhanov were unanimous in their support for the coming war. And only a handful of Bolshevik deputies in the Duma did not support this amazing unity. Soon they were arrested as defeatists and traitors and sent into exile in Siberia.

Day of the declaration of war by the sovereign emperor, July 20, 1914, in the Winter Palace. Reproduction of a postcard, St. Petersburg, 1914

The apogee of the rise (both in our city and throughout the country) was the announcement of first mobilization, and then the war of Germany and Austria-Hungary. On July 20, 1914 (according to the old style), the emperor delivered a speech from the balcony of the Winter Palace. The crowd that listened to him fell to their knees. The surge of people's love made a deep impression on Nicholas II - the emperor drew confidence in the future from him.

Departure of Their Imperial Majesties from the Winter Palace on July 20, 1914. Reproduction of a postcard, St. Petersburg, 1914

In his speech to the deputies of the State Duma on July 26, 1914, he noted: “That huge upsurge of patriotic feelings, love for the Motherland and devotion to the Throne, which, like a hurricane, swept through our entire land, serves in My eyes and, I think, in yours as a guarantee that that Our great Mother Russia will bring the war sent by the Lord God to the desired end. The people and the authorities were united in their desire to fight: 96% of the conscripts came to the assembly points. No one asked himself the question why the country enters into a global conflict. No one imagined that they would have to pay for it incomprehensibly with several million lives.

The jubilant townspeople unleashed a wave of pogroms against the hated Germans. Actually, the pogrom for the Russian Empire of that time was a common way of social communication. However, it reached the point of absurdity. Shopkeepers with suspiciously German-like surnames posted ads in their windows: “This is not a German, but a Jewish shop.” The crowd, fueled by patriotic feelings, went to the German embassy in St. Petersburg, which was located on St. Isaac's Square, and tore off the idols with horses from its roof. The idols, to be honest, were really ugly. Obvious forerunners of the German monumental art of the 30s of the XX century. According to legend, they were thrown into the Moika, so as not to be dragged far, and they rest there to this day. The idols were large, and the Moika was small, so this is unlikely.

And then a kind of "carnival" began. Dozens of Russian citizens of German origin reached out to the police departments and councils - to change their surnames. They renamed St. Petersburg, which was actually called in the Dutch, and not in the German manner, into Petrograd (but they wanted to - into St. Petrograd) and almost turned the sandwich into a sandwich (it was an option loyal to the British allies).

Three years later, the government that plunged the country into a world war fell on a wave of popular discontent. She fell because she was unable to solve the most fundamental issues of Russian reality - to establish peace and divide the land.

Reproduction of a postcard, St. Petersburg, 1914

But, by the way, those very Bolsheviks who were declared traitors and exiled - they turned out to be right in assessing the war as a disastrous event for the empire. If you think about it, they were the only ones who benefited from everything that happened after 1914.

100 years ago, on July 28, 1914, one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind began, later called the First World War, a war that changed the world beyond recognition. It rightfully became the prologue of the 20th century, all its cardinal changes and transformations.

“The Forgotten War”, such a metaphorical name for the First World War in modern Russia, has become almost a historiographical norm. It really turned out to be a “forgotten war” in our minds, and was almost erased in the historical memory of ordinary Russians, leaving behind only general information and vague family memories.

The Second Patriotic War, as it was called in those years, along with losses, suffering and millions of deaths, caused a patriotic upsurge in Russian society and an unprecedented surge in charitable and selfless activities for the benefit of the Fatherland. It was this page of the First World War that served as the basis for writing this article, in which I would like to show the involvement of the Yaroslavl land in military operations.

Our region during the First World War was in the rear. Despite the remoteness of the front, the inhabitants of the Yaroslavl province were actively involved in helping the soldiers and their families.

One of the first public organizations that responded to the need for medical care was the Russian Red Cross Society, whose main task was to organize medical institutions and provide medical care. By mid-August 1914, 45 hospitals, 35 stage hospitals and 33 mobile infirmaries were created throughout the country, but with such a number there was a shortage of medical institutions and nurses.

In this regard, on August 20, 1914, the first infirmary for wounded soldiers was opened at the Yaroslavl provincial hospital, and on the 21st, the first echelon with the wounded arrived at the railway station of the Moscow Railway Station.

The echelon was received by the Sisters of Mercy. One of them was our compatriot - Sakina Natalya Fedorovna, the wife of the owner of the weaving and bleaching factory Sakina in the village of Karabikha, Yaroslavl district. To provide medical care, she completed short-term courses, after which she received the qualification of a wartime sister of mercy, like 11,000 Russian women.

The work of medical workers was hard, it required self-denial and great strength, both physical and moral. These fragile women gave all their health daily to the wounded. This can be seen by looking at photographs of that time.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself set an example of true service. Having completed the courses of the Red Cross, she and her two daughters Olga Nikolaevna and Tatyana Nikolaevna looked after the wounded. gangrenous wounds, not shunning anything, and steadfastly endured the smells and terrible pictures of a military hospital during the war. “During heavy operations, the wounded begged the empress to be around. The Empress was idolized, they expected her arrival, trying to touch her sister's dress; the dying asked her to sit by the bed, support their hand or head, and she, despite her fatigue, calmed them down for hours on end,” Dr. Botkin recalled.

In addition to the Red Cross, other public organizations also created hospitals and infirmaries. For example, such as the Yaroslavl charitable society of the "Department of the Committee of the Grand Duchess Milica Nikolaevna, to assist the wounded Russian, Montenegrin and Serbian soldiers", it is also the "Green Cross". This society was, in the opinion of its members, "in the full sense of the word, a public institution and characterized the attitude of the Yaroslavl society to the needs and needs caused by the war." The "Green Cross" was mainly engaged in the equipment and organization of infirmaries for the wounded and sick soldiers. The main difficulty was the scarcity of funds and insufficient equipment of the premises. Members of the Council of the Society resolved this issue very successfully: they turned their houses and apartments into infirmaries, placing 5-10 beds with the wounded there. The issue of medical assistance was also resolved successfully, as local doctors offered their free professional assistance.

The chairman of the "Green Cross", the owner of a weaving and bleaching factory in the village of Karabikha, Krestobogorodsky volost, Yaroslavl district, Yaroslavl province, Alexei Petrovich Sakin, opened infirmaries: for 15 beds in his house and for 20 beds in the weaving department of the factory.

The owner of a neighboring weaving factory, located 19 km from Yaroslavl in the village of Kormilitsyno, Petr Andreevich Zotov, joined him, who placed an infirmary for 2 beds in his house.

No less willingness to serve the cause of mercy was shown by local women working in the settlements at the weaving factories of P.A.

Factory workers also made generous donations, and the Green Cross received linen, provisions, inventory, and money.

During its existence, the Green Cross Society has enjoyed the mercy of private individuals only and has not received any public money. To increase their funds, the Council of the Society organized charitable gatherings and performances. So, on September 15, 1914, at the weaving and bleaching factory of A.P. Sakin was shown the performance of A. Ostrovsky "The Wolf and the Sheep" for workers and employees. The funds went to help the wounded and recovering soldiers.

It is also known that in addition to treating the wounded and sick soldiers, the Green Cross Society provided financial assistance to soldiers discharged from infirmaries and hospitals. Alexei Petrovich Sakin was no exception. He allocated a monetary reward to the recovered patients from 5 to 12 rubles, which was the monthly salary of a factory worker.

Those who fought at the front, their wives and children, were not forgotten either. They were given gifts on holidays. Restoring the health of the wounded and sick soldiers, the Society systematically organized the work of libraries, readings, musical numbers, teaching soldiers to read and write.

Even before the end of the war, the Council of the Society turned its eyes to the near future, when soldiers wounded and maimed in the war will need to look for work. To this end, A.P. Sakin, as chairman of the Green Cross, proposed organizing craft workshops. This question was not only discussed in the council, but was brought to the attention of the entire Yaroslavl public.
Thus, the local council of the Green Cross Society, as far as possible, sought to help the soldiers at the front, in the infirmary and when leaving the infirmary, their families, disabled soldiers (training in accessible crafts). People who suffered in the war were employed in various fields.

In the early days of the war in the Yaroslavl district of the Yaroslavl province, another voluntary society was organized - the "Guardianship for the charity of the lower military ranks", consisting of representatives of different classes, which provided regular assistance to the children of soldiers. The children were provided with various kinds of benefits, temporary non-payment of tuition was allowed. The families of the mobilized were regularly given benefits from the zemstvo.

State assistance was expressed in the form of rations for households left without the usual support. Zemstvo councils provided support with money, forest departments with free firewood, public organizations with clothes, neighbors with work.

Another form of charity of our countrymen during the First World War was financial assistance to Russian prisoners of war, the civilian population affected by hostilities and various epidemics: funds were collected in a "cup" way for tobacco for soldiers, bathhouses in the trenches, for orphans. Mugs were installed on the streets of Yaroslavl, large settlements of the province, in churches, monasteries, state, private and public institutions. These events took place from the beginning of the war throughout the Yaroslavl district everywhere, you can find out about this through the lines of the provincial newspaper "Voice". So, already in the first months of the war, residents of the Yaroslavl district collected 46 thousand rubles.

All patriotic activities of the Yaroslavl people were based on the principles of humanity and mercy. Regardless of gender and class, financial situation and level of education, everyone helped the front. It was a single impulse of love for the Motherland and faith in its strength and inviolability!