"ASIAN ENEMY": THE IMAGE OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN PROPAGANDA OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Abstract

Abstract
 The purpose of this article is to examine peculiarities of the formation of the image of the Russian Empire as an enemy in Austro-Hungarian propaganda during the First World War.
 Methodology. General scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization) were used to collect information and analyze it. Methods of visual anthropology, history of propaganda were used. The analysis of the received information made it possible to recreate the wartime processes using the method of reconstruction.
 The scientific novelty is that for the first time, on the basis of the collected materials, the peculiarities of Austro-Hungarian propaganda in creating the image of the enemy from the Russian Empire during the First World War were analyzed, the aspects of creating the image of the internal enemy were noted, and conclusions were drawn about the results of the propaganda of the Habsburg Empire.
 Conclusions. Austro-Hungarian propaganda used the image of a "threat from the east". It has been established that already in 1914, military personnel on the front lines and the population in the rear formed certain attitudes towards Russia. Propaganda has fulfilled its task of forming the image of the enemy. The process of creating specialized institutions that were engaged in propaganda in the Habsburg Empire, the use of such means as caricatures and films is considered. The image of the external enemy was supplemented by an internal enemy. The Jewish, Polish and Ukrainian population of the border areas became such an enemy for Austria-Hungary. The higher military command of the Habsburgs tried to shift the responsibility for the defeats of the first stage of the war on these national minorities. On the domestic information front, visual propaganda was represented by posters, postcards, and films. The state of modern research on the issue is highlighted and the prospects for further research are outlined.