К вопросу о награждении корреспондентов Русско-турецкой войны 1877-1878 гг.

Abstract

The article is devoted to a brief analysis of the previously unknown archival file “On awarding of former newspaper correspondent Rose and Colonel Brukenberry.” It refers to military reporters William Kinnaird Rose and Charles Brackenbury who accompanied the army of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878. William Rose represented provincial press of Great Britain; he wrote for the Scottish newspaper “The Scotsman.” Charles Brackenbury, Colonel of the British army, was absent with leave during the campaign; his reports were published in “The Times.” The file “On awarding of former newspaper correspondent Rose and Colonel Brackenbury” contains the correspondence of the Russian embassy in London with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs N. K. Girs. William Rose made a request at the embassy to reward him for the last war campaign. This request was granted and a light bronze medal “In memory of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878” was sent to the correspondent. Immediately afterward, Charles Brackenbury made a similar request; there is no information on the receipt of the award in his case. Researchers were aware of the awarding of several correspondents during the campaign, including Colonel Brackenbury, but not that it continued after the campaign. With the discovery of documents on the awarding in 1879, it can be said that the Russian authorities encouraged foreign journalists, possibly in order to maintain friendly state-to-state relations. The document also shows that the correspondents made their request at the Russian embassy in London; as far as we know, it was not habitual procedure during the hostilities, when command representatives applied for medals. It is also worth noting that information on the awarding of William Rose was not published previously in either Russian or foreign sources. The new material allows to deepen the existing knowledge on the activities of foreign correspondents in the Russo-Turkish war. The issue has been addressed rarely if ever, and always in precedent-setting, hence the author’s interest in the topic: for the first time in the history of journalism, relations with foreign and Russian correspondents were cultivated in the wartime; for the first time correspondents admitted to the theater of operation were recommended for state awards of the Russian Empire.