On Communication between Government and Society in the Waning Years of the Russian Empire. Rev.: Kostrikova, E. G. The Information Policy of the Russian Government during the First World War and Revolution, 1914–1917. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole, 2024. 416 p.
https://doi.org/10.25205/2713-1165-2026-1-172-182
Abstract
This review examines the monograph authored by Elena Gavrilovna Kostrikova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, within the broader scholarly discourse on 20th-century Russian political history. It considers the study’s scope, sources, methodology, and key insights and conclusions. The review finds that E. G. Kostrikova convincingly clarifies the main narratives regarding military and diplomatic censorship, the Petrograd Telegraph Agency (PTA), and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs information activities during 1914–1917, primarily relying on official administrative records. The author lays a solid groundwork for future research into the roles of the PTA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as their impact on Russia and Europe’s information landscape. However, the monograph’s title seems to exaggerate the breadth of themes covered, as it does not adequately examine whether the Russian government followed a consistent “information policy” or merely operated through disparate, loosely connected functions like censorship and “public briefing”. This fundamental question remains insufficiently addressed within the volume.
Keywords
E. G. Kostrikova,
Petrograd Telegraph Agency,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
First World War,
February Revolution
Supporting agencies: The publication was prepared as part of the state assignment project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, titled “Society and Power in Russia in the 20th and Early 21st Centuries: Political Participation, Communication, and Actor Identity” (Project No. FWZM‑2024-0008).
About the Author
D. L. Sheremeteva
Institute of History, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Daria L. Sheremeteva, Candidate of Sciences (History), research fellow of the Sector of History of Socio-Political Development
WoS ResearcherID: Q‑9427-216
Novosibirsk
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Review
For citations:
Sheremeteva D.L. On Communication between Government and Society in the Waning Years of the Russian Empire. Rev.: Kostrikova, E. G. The Information Policy of the Russian Government during the First World War and Revolution, 1914–1917. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole, 2024. 416 p. Universum Humanitarium. 2026;(1):172-182. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/2713-1165-2026-1-172-182
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