Serbskaja tema v sbornike L. Andrejeva «V sej groznyj čas»

The first journal reviews of L. Andreev at the beginning of the First World War were published in the anthology “In this terrible hour” (V sey groznyj chas, 1915). In the chapter of “The Word about Serbia” (Slovo o Serbii) the writer pays attention to the fact that the Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia aims at nothing else than to avenge a much smaller and sufficiently poor country, so Andreev equates this with the execution of Serbia. Having fought for Serbia as a Slavic country, the writer finds no one but Russia who can help Serbia. Based on the idea of Slav reciprocity and geographical proximity, he calls for immediate assistance from Russia. At the same time, the theme of the attack on Serbia serves to condemn Germany for its aggressive attitude towards other countries and its contempt for other cultures.