Military Censorship Research Articles

Back in the U.S.S.R.: Russian Popular Music in the Times of Military Censorship

The article deals with the field of popular music in Russia in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion on 24 February 2022. It focuses on the changing public perception and governmental response towards Soviet music stars as well as younger generation of musicians who have taken an anti-war stance. The article also analyses the efforts of state ideologists to create a patriotic music scene that can silence dissenting voices. The framework used juxtaposes contemporary tactics with Soviet-era practices. The author analyses the current official critical discourse on Russian popular music, exploring the work of modern music censorship, the primary mechanism governing the Russian popular music market since the full-scale invasion began.

Свобода слова в военное время: опыт Израиля

The article focuses on freedom of speech in the State of Israel in the context of the ongoing war with Hamas. Throughout its modern history the Jewish state has faced national security threats from some neighboring countries and military groups in the Middle East, that is why freedom of speech regulation has had to reflect these factors. However, parties’ compliance with the rules and customs of war (international humanitarian law) is not within the scope of this article. The first part of the study shows the evolution of the legislation, as well as key precedents of the Supreme Court of Israel, where the highest court of the land consistently considered freedom of speech as a core element of Israeli democracy. Then, the author moves on to current challenges, namely anti-war student protests on campuses and foreign media coverage of the war. Regarding freedom of speech at universities, Israeli legislation is quite ambiguous, leaving wide discretion to the administration of educational institutions and creating legal uncertainty. In contrast, foreign media face the opposite problem, i.e. the rigid regulation and military censorship. Consequently, both situations present equal challenges to freedom of speech in the country that require Israeli legislature and courts to act. In conclusion, the author fully acknowledges that the State of Israel, faced with military aggression, has a legitimate and justified interest in ensuring national security and it may lead to certain restrictions on freedom of speech. Meanwhile, it is important that such restrictions are clearly formulated in the statutes, balanced and proportionate. Today, more than ever, it is important that Israel preserves its democratic values that have always formed the very foundation of the Jewish state.

Censored: Examining the Standards, Personnel, and Censorship Technology in the Soviet Military Press, 1944–1945

This article examines one of the areas of activity for restriction of information – the system of military censorship in the Soviet military press: what remained unchanged and what was transformed in its work on protecting information, which was a military secret between 1944 and 1945. The study focuses on the regulatory framework of military censorship, the objects of the ban, the censor's personnel, technology of censorship control. Until December 1943 in the Red Army, there was a ‘Regulation on the organization of military censorship’ of 1935, which did not meet wartime requirements. The new ‘Regulation’ corrected the situation. The change and addition of the composition of the information constituting military secrets were directly affected by the course of combat operations during the Red Army’s campaign in Europe. The subject of censorship prevented the disclosure of military secrets, political errors, and information undesirable to publish in the military press.

Доклад генерал-майора Д. П. Струкова о постановке военной цензуры в Петрограде и Петроградском военном округе. 1915 г.

The article publishes the report of the chairman of the Petrograd Military Censorship Commission, General D. P. Strukov, to the Chief of the Petrograd Military District on the organization of military censorship in the capital (July 9, 1915). By this time military censorship in Petrograd was a complex and multilevel structure, covering not only the press and correspondence, but also theater, cinema, public speeches and reports. Under the "Provisional Regulations on Military Censorship," adopted with the outbreak of World War I, censors had broad powers and could ban virtually any printed material, stop the forwarding of any correspondence, and prohibit any speech or theatrical production. However, this did not avoid numerous mistakes and contradictory decisions when censoring newspapers and magazines. It was not uncommon for one censor to authorize an article for publication and another to prohibit it. Significant difficulties also arose in the censorship of postal and telegraphic correspondence. Due to the widespread and chronic shortage of qualified personnel, postal and telegraph offices and post offices did not have time to review thousands of letters and telegrams, both internal and external. The "backlogs" of correspondence that had already formed in the first month of the war attracted the attention of the command and the censorship leadership. Meetings were held, censors were transferred to the "problem" areas, but the problem was solved slowly, and the "backlogs" generally increased. Letters and telegrams were delayed for months and often did not reach their addressees, which caused great irritation in the society and in the army. Representatives of the censorship called for a multiple increase in the funding of censorship offices and increase in the staff to solve the problem of "deposits" and complete control of internal and external correspondence. The supporter of such a campaign was General Strukov, who proposed in his report of July 9, 1915, to increase the number of censors by 450 people, to raise their salaries, and to establish a full review of all letters and telegrams. In addition, Strukov proposed to change the structure of military censorship in the capital: to subordinate all military censorship commissions of the Petrograd Military District to a single head, subordinate in his turn to the commander of the VI Army. With the help of such "unity of command" the General intended to eliminate the problem of contradictory decisions, unnecessary correspondence and conflicts between departments. Strukov's proposals were realized only partially: in 1915-1916 the number of censors was practically doubled, the maintenance of military censorship venues was improved. However, the problems of censorship - inconsistency, unjustified rigidity, selectivity and constant delay of correspondence - remained for the whole period of the First World War.

О ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ВОЕННОЙ ЦЕНЗУРЫ РОССИЙСКОЙ ИМПЕРИИ В СФЕРЕ ПЕРЛЮСТРАЦИИ ПИСЕМ ВО ВРЕМЯ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

The article, based on military censorship reports, analyzes the categories of confiscated letters grouped by topics of criticism or by the moods of the authors. It reveals significant changes in the perception of the events of the First World War in Russia and Belarus. It also studies specific projects of scientific developments in the field of intensification of weapons, the need to establish the production of machine guns, shells, self-propelled mines, “Greek fire”, explosives, the production of submarines, armored field vehicles. There is an analysis of proposals for teaching courses in combating poisonous gases, revision of training of recruits in order to improve the quality of training, reforming the relationship between the rears and the front.. The article describes such functions of military censorship as protective, which consisted in deleting military secret information, the function of informing the authorities about the mood in the army and assessing the events on the front line, punitive, which manifested itself in notifying the military unit about the sender and providing the police with the information about the recipient of the confiscated letter. The following topics, most persecuted by military censorship, are highlighted: an issue of the Great Retreat of Russian troops in the summer of 1915 and the loss of Galicia and Warsaw; the comments on activities of military censorship; lack of information about the real state of affairs and the circulation of rumors; soldiers’ distrust of officers and Command; letters of a humanistic nature; criticism of failed military decisions taken under the fear of disobedience; the issue of incompetence of fire spotters, sappers and trench builders; comparative characteristics of the quantity and quality of machine guns in the Russian and German armies. It is concluded that, due to censorship prohibitions on discussing any information of a military nature, the military authorities and local administration of front-line territories, in our view, often lagged behind in making urgent and timely decisions on the ground. It resulted in accumulating discontent in the army and among civilian population

Out of Africa: letters of Jewish detainees in the British internment camps, 1944–1948

ABSTRACT This paper explores the experiences of Jewish right-wing underground members who were imprisoned in detention camps in Eritrea, Sudan, and Kenya during the British Mandate rule over Palestine from October 1944 to July 1948. These 459 detainees endured harsh conditions and isolation, after being exiled without trial and denied the ability to appeal to a court. Their primary means of communication with the outside world was by correspondence. An extensive collection of letters penned by these detainees to their loved ones and to national and international institutions is housed in Israeli archives, particularly within the Jabotinsky Institute. Additionally, original newspapers and a comprehensive book compiled during their time in the camp are among the preserved materials. Remarkably, these ego documents have seen limited use in academic research. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive depiction of the isolated microcosm of culture, education, struggle, and resilience cultivated by these young Jewish men despite their uncertain condition and lack of control over their fate. This analysis relies on letters composed in real-time, subject to military censorship as well as self-restraint, to avoid causing distress to their families. These letters constitute a valuable historical resource that sheds light on a lesser-known case study.

How does Information Manipulation Interfere with Normal Brain Function? The Disruption of Neuroethics in War-Time Mass Media

The article describes massive changes in the brain function of mass-media recipients. It is written within the relevant neuro social state of the Ukrainian mass media society in the conditions of undeclared military censorship and counter-propaganda. The material for analysis was two groups of data: content analysis of news media and a sociological survey of citizens for the presence of cognitive dissonance and lies that can violate neuroethics, namely, forming a distorted picture of the world, creating long-term deprivation and inadequate neural connections. The purpose of such research was to find out the regular influence of affective and defamatory infospace on the brains of people whose countries are at war. We clarified the nature of the newest manipulations in the media and around ethical issues, the state of research on the neuroethics of manipulations, comparing the nature of war journalistic manipulations in Russian and Ukrainian media and the objectification and explanation of neuroethical violations in Ukrainian media through the techniques of lying, silencing, avoidance, analysis, self-counting, etc. The authors used methods of theoretical, statistical, comparative and systemic analysis, content analysis, sociological methods of collecting background data and neuro interpretive methods for the received input data. The result of the article was a systematization of the manipulation of the brain in a state of permanent tension; in particular, we identified ways of institutional avoidance or deception and diagnosis of specific neuroethical threats and consequences among the population (emotional dependency, deprivation, emotional-cognitive dissonance, lack of entitlement to accurate truth, the difference between the content of the national and local media, etc.)

Some features of censorship policy during the Crimean War of 1853–1856

The article is devoted to the analysis of new sources found in the National Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan, which clarify the picture of the censorship policy of the tsarist government during the war years. The study was carried out based on the modernization concept of Russian history, in which the printed word appears as one of the main engines of modernization, as well as on the methods of intellectual history, in which book publishing and the press are studied in close connection with issues of censorship policy. The modern historiography of the Crimean (Eastern) War continues to be enriched with new works devoted to Russian public life and connected with the history of the press and censorship. А rich literature is devoted to the history of Russian periodicals and journalism, but not to the censorship policy of the Russian Empire. The article considers a number of circulars of the Ministry of Public Education, which was the leading state body in the implementation of the censorship policy, but in war conditions it carefully took into account the requirements of the Military Censorship Committee under the General Staff. The emperor actively intervened in censorship issues, especially in publicizing literary works in the press. For example, the newspaper Samarskiye Gubernskiye Vedomosti shows, that the provincial press reprinted notes and reports about the war from the capital news that had already passed the censorship check. Despite the selection of information, these reports did not hide information about the losses of Russian troops

К истории публикации брошюры Н. И. Кареева «Южные славяне и Италия на Адриатике». 1916 г.

The article publishes correspondence concerning publication of a pamphlet by the famous Russian historian, Nikolai Ivanovich Kareev (1850–1931) “Southern Slavs and Italy on the Adriatic.” It was to be published in the series “World War and Slavic Questions.” The compilers intended the series to increase the knowledge in the Russian society about the “Slavic question” and its prospects after the war. In particular, they supported the idea of uniting the Czechs and Slovaks into a Czechoslovak state and expanding the borders of Serbia, both at the expense of Austro-Hungarian territories. Kareev held to a similar point of view in his brochure, based primarily on historical facts. Written in the summer of 1916, this work reflected his views on the course of the war and the future post-war world order. In the question of the fate of Austrian Istria and Dalmatia, Kareev actually supported the Serbian side, seeing no reason for Italy to acquire these lands after the victory over the Central Powers. At the stage of censoring, the essay encountered some obstacles. According to the existing procedure, the Petrograd Committee for Press Affairs (which also dealt with military censorship) sent essays on foreign policy topics to the Press and Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for review. In August 1916, Kareev’s manuscript was received there. After reviewing it, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Neratov advised to postpone the publication of the brochure, as it raised difficult questions and might have caused discontent of Italian allies of Russia. The manuscript was “stuck” in the censorship committee for two months, and Kareev tried to solve the problem by contacting the head of the Second Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, baron Boris Nolde, who, in his turn, advised him to write a personal letter to Neratov. In his letter, Kareev assured Neratov that there was nothing “offensive” in the brochure; it was written in “objectively scientific” language; the facts had been published and discussed not only in England and France, but also in Italy. Kareev also asked Neratov for a personal meeting to convey his arguments. It is possible that the meeting actually took place, because a week later the director of the Press and Information Department, Alexander Lysakovsky, informed the chairman of the Petrograd Press Committee, Nikolai Levitsky, that the Foreign Ministry no longer had any complaints against Kareev’s brochure and it could be published. The published documents show the mechanism of censoring essays on foreign policy topics in Russia during the First World War. In addition, N.I. Kareev’s letter is now introduced into scientific use, supplementing his extensive epistolary legacy.

Эрскин Колдуэлл в военной Москве (май – сентябрь 1941)

Erskine Caldwell became known in the USSR in the mid-1930s through the magazine publications of his short stories and the Russian edition of the novel Tobacco Road (1938). In his correspondence with the representatives of Soviet literary institutions — Sergei Dynamov, Timofei Rokotov, Mikhail Apletin — Caldwell often discussed his plans to visit the Soviet Union. Caldwell and the famous photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White, who became his wife in 1939, arrived in the Soviet Union after their trip to China in May 1941, and thus started their acquaintance with the Soviet Union in Alma-Ata. From Kazakhstan the American guests went to Moscow, had time to visit Ukraine, Tbilisi, Sochi, and on June 22 learned about the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. They stayed in the warring country until late September 1941. As eyewitnesses to historic events, Caldwell and Burke-White worked as war correspondents: they reported from the USSR for Life magazine and the newspaper PM. Caldwell's reports and Burke-White's photographs were also published in the Soviet press. Since July 1941, Caldwell conducted daily CBS live radio broadcasts from wartime Moscow. M. Burke-White held a photo session with Stalin, captured the historic visit to Moscow of Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt’s personal advisor. The article, based on the American and Soviet press and archival materials, reconstructs the history of the American couple's stay and work in the USSR and evaluates their activities as writers and war correspondents in the historical, literary and political context of the first months of the Great Patriotic War. Caldwell’s interview with the American Ambassador Laurence Steinhardt for Life magazine, which didn’t pass the Soviet military censorship is published in the Addendum.

ПОСЛЕДНИЕ ЦЕНЗОРЫ: ВЛАДИВОСТОКСКАЯ ИНСПЕКЦИЯ ПО ДЕЛАМ ПЕЧАТИ В 1906-1917 ГГ.

The article is based on unpublished documents of the Russian State Military Historical Archive (Moscow): fond 15762 “Vladivostok Military Censorship Station 1914–1917”, the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg): fond 776 “Main Directorate of Press Affairs” (files on the service of the Vladivostok press inspector N.V. Dufour and his deputy A.N. Zankovsky). Petersburg): fond 776 “Main Directorate for Press Affairs” (files on the service of Vladivostok Press Inspector N.V. Dufour and his deputy A.N. Zankovsky), Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East (Vladivostok): fond 24 “Vladivostok Press Inspector”. It shows the formation, financing and activities of the Vladivostok Press Inspectorate in 1906–1917 and gives a characterization of key staff members. Special attention is paid to the relations of Inspector N.V. Dufour with the reporting to him press and the administration of Primorsky Region. It is concluded that the inspector strove for cooperation between the authorities and the loyal periodicals. Enforcing strict observance of the law and regulations on the editorial offices of newspapers, inspector he tried to protect the media from unwarranted persecution on the part of the authorities, believing that unjustified punishment only excited the society against the government. Because of that, he often clashed with military governors and vice-governors. Such a policy failed during World War I, when the press inspectorate became a body for transmitting circulars to newspaper editors circulars on prohibition of covering certain topics in the press. As throughout the country, that gradually led to the loss of opportunities for dialogue and the loss of government control over the content of periodical press

Minsk Military District at Initial Stage of First World War

The article deals with the issue of organizing the Minsk Military District during the First World War. Attention is paid to the interpretation of the conditions in which the process of formation of this important structure in wartime conditions took place. The authors dwell on the main functions of this territorial entity related to the need to prepare reserves and supply the army in the field. In the presented study, it is shown that in an emergency, for the implementation of these tasks, it was planned to change the system of civilian administration with its subordination to the military leadership of the district. The novelty of the study is seen in the reflection of the problem of reconfiguring the borders of a part of the border military districts, which affected, among other things, the construction of censorship bodies, their ability in practice to adequately and promptly respond to the demands of difficult wartime. It is proved that the “mobility” of the borders of military censorship regions, caused by changes in the operational situation, was reflected in the creation and functioning of the necessary unified district censorship system, which also explains the violations of the “Provisional Regulations on Military Censorship” that occurred within the borders of the district. The stated problem is investigated by the authors of the article on the basis of materials from periodicals and documents stored in local and central archives.

The birth of modern military neurosurgery through the eyes of Harvey Cushing's war memoir From a Surgeon's Journal, 1915-1918.

Dr. Harvey Cushing is considered the father of modern neurological surgery, and his role and efforts in World War I continue to have a lasting effect on today's practice of neurosurgery. During World War I, he embodied the tenets of a neurosurgeon-scientist: he created and implemented novel antiseptic techniques to decrease infection rates after craniotomies, leading him often to be referred to as "originator of brain wound care." His contributions did not come without struggles, however. He faced criticism for numerous military censorship violations, and he developed a severe peripheral neuropathy during the war. However, he continued to stress the importance of patient care and his surgical prowess was evident. In this paper, the authors summarize Cushing's notes published in From a Surgeon's Journal, 1915-1918 and discuss the impact of his experiences on his own practice and the field of neurosurgery.

Istoriograficheskij aspekt obshchestvenno-politicheskih nastroenij i praktik perioda Pervoj mirovoj vojny

The article examines the understanding of the causes of the outbreak of the First World War, characteristic of various stages of international post-war politics. The authors come to the conclusion that the specifics of the reality constructed by politicians, historians and sociologists were diverse and relied primarily on the analysis of the sentiments characteristic of the ruling circles of the states participating in the world conflict. The authors of the article focus on the search for new complex contexts of the First World War, which make it possible to expand the understanding of its various realities. The possibilities of the periodical press in forming judgments and assessments in the field of the most pressing problems, events and facts in the period under review, as well as the role of military censorship are analyzed.

Трансформация публичной сферы в годы Первой мировой войны: отношение к войне и миру

Introduction. The paper analyses the Russian public sphere during World War I. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of the functioning of the periodical press under the conditions of military censorship. The paper demonstrates how censorship restrictions regulated the discussion of issues that were of special political importance and transformed the publicity regime in the country. Methods and materials. The presented work is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The methodological framework for writing the article is the public sphere model proposed by J. Habermas, as well as special methodological approaches developed in the works of N. Luhmann. With a view to understanding and analysing the processes taking place in the public sphere, the research method of case studies is used. The source base of the study, in addition to publications in periodicals, consists of official documents regulating the activities of military censorship institutions in Russia. Analysis. The study reveals and demonstrates the possibilities of the periodical press to create a special sphere of publicity in the country through the information impact on the population. The article states that the press at the early stage of World War I did not differ in the variety of opinions, made no attempt to develop an objective overview of what was going on. First of all, the issues of the “fair war” and “inevitable victory” were brought up, which fueled the atmosphere of patriotic euphoria. At the same time, the military censorship suppressed any attempts to discuss the possibility of making peace between belligerent countries, even if they came from the supporters of military conflict, as it was the case with the article by P.A. Sorokin. The same trend was observed both in 1915 and 1916. Mentioning peace on the pages of the periodical press was equated with violations that the enemies could use to their advantage. Results. Thus, the press acted as only one, albeit very important, element of the public sphere within which the formation of public opinion took place during World War I. The mechanisms of the public sphere fulfilled one of the key tasks: due to its influence the population was mobilized in all areas of its practical activity. At the very beginning of the war, the press stood in solidarity with the authorities regarding the inevitability of the future victory of Russia and the need to protect the Fatherland from enemy attacks. The question of the duration of hostilities and the advent of peace was more complicated. However, as the war continued and the internal political crisis grew, the attitude towards the early conclusion of peace was changing, gradually transforming into hatred of all the actors of the war in the public sphere, with its own authorities taking the place of the enemy governments. Throughout the war, the pressure on the media by the censorship striving to maintain a pro-government publicity regime increased. However, at some point the transformation of the public sphere became irreversible and in many ways predetermined the events of 1917. The authors’ contribution. E.А. Antyukhova has defined the methodological approaches to the interpretation of the documents of the periodical press of World War I in terms of the public sphere, demonstrated its possibilities in the formation of public opinion. V.F. Blokhin has analyzed the existing points of view in the domestic and foreign historiography on the features of the functioning of the periodical press under the conditions of World War I, demonstrated the work of military censorship at different stages during the military conflict.

НАКАНУНЕ ВОЙНЫ: ПРОЕКТ «ПОЛОЖЕНИЯ О ВОЕННОЙ ЦЕНЗУРЕ» 1912 Г

The article publishes for the first time the draft «Regulations on military censorship», prepared in 1912 by a special interdepartmental commission. Compared to the draft of 1910, this version has undergone significant content and stylistic changes, but its basis has remained the same. First of all, the introduction of military censorship was supposed throughout the entire territory of the Russian Empire, without division into «full» and «partial», as in the final version of 1914. Military censorship, according to the project, was supposed to apply only to military topics and not interfere in public and political discussions. However, both the «Temporary Regulations on Military Censorship» of 1914 and the practice of war from the first day destroyed these boundaries between «military» and «non-military» topics. In this sense, the 1912 draft became an intermediate stage on the way to granting the military censorship exclusive rights that were poorly regulated by law.

ВРЕМЕННОЕ ПОЛОЖЕНИЕ О ВОЕННОЙ ЦЕНЗУРЕ: ПРОЕКТ 1910 Г

The article publishes for the first time the draft «Regulations on military censorship», designed to regulate the censorship of the press, postal and telegraph correspondence, speeches and reports in wartime. Its development was led by a meeting that included representatives of various departments of the Russian Empire. This document became the forerunner of the «Provisional Regulations on Military Censorship», adopted on the second day of the First World War. Despite the great importance and significance of the «Provisional Regulations» for the socio-political life of pre-revolutionary Russia, the history of its creation has not yet been elucidated. The publication of the 1910 draft sheds light on the process of creating the «Provisional Regulations» and the general development of military censorship in Russia during the First World War.

Сибирский город в эпоху войн и революций (рецензия на: Шумилова Э. Е. Повседневная жизнь крупных городов Западной Сибири в годы Первой мировой войны. Екатеринбург: Издательские решения, 2020. 175 с.)

The review is devoted to the monograph of PhD in Historical Sciences E.E. Shumilova about the everyday life of large cities of Western Siberia during the First World War. The author focuses on the socio-economic situation of Omsk, Tomsk, Barnaul and Novonikolaevsk. The state of the urban economy on the eve of the war, the housing stock, the medical system is analyzed. The author drew on the materials of four archives, having studied in detail the movement of the population, public sentiment, the development of trade, the sanitary condition of cities. The main conclusion of the study is that the large cities of Western Siberia were initially not ready for the burden imposed on them by the protracted war: large-scale mobilization, the influx of refugees and prisoners of war. The accompanying economic problems - high prices, interruptions in the supply of food and fuel - increased social tension and adversely affected the state of the urban environment. Despite the name, E.E. Shumilova paid great attention to the period “from February to October”, the development of the revolutionary situation in the region. The author did not attract materials from the regional periodical press and military censorship, which would significantly expand knowledge about public sentiment. Little attention is paid to anti-government agitation on the one hand, and government propaganda on the other. The choice of the study regions also raises questions: Novonikolaevsk and Barnaul were included, but Tyumen and Tobolsk, no less large and significant Siberian cities, were ignored. Despite these shortcomings, E.E. Shumilova made a significant contribution to the study of everyday life in Siberia on the eve of the 1917 revolution.

Military Censorship in Germany and Russia in 1914-1917

Military Censorship in Germany and Russia in 1914-1917

The “Temporary Regulation on Military Censorship” as a Historical Source

The “Temporary Regulation on Military Censorship” as a Historical Source