The image of Sweden on the pages of the newspaper «Russian invalid» during the First World War (1914–1915)

The article examines and analyzes the image of Sweden that was created by Russian journalists on the pages of the periodical «Russian Invalid» in the first years of the First World War (1914–1915), when the Russian Empire was in active military confrontation with the countries of the Triple (later Quadruple) Alliance, and the Kingdom of Sweden maintained neutrality in its policy and quite consciously tried to stop the attempts of the main instigators of this war to draw it into this global armed conflict. The correspondents of «Russian Invalid» paid attention to Sweden on the pages of their publication in 1914–1915, but not on a regular basis, as a rule, in separate publications devoted to the events that took place in the Scandinavian-Baltic region. Based on the analysis of the materials presented on the pages of «Russian Invalid», the following distinctive features of the image of Sweden, formed by the journalists of this newspaper in 1914–1915, were determined: - a state that adhered to strict neutrality in its foreign policy and had no intention of engaging in open military clashes on the European continent; - a country that sought to strengthen the combat capability of its armed forces, including through the creation and development of new branches and types of troops; - one of the leading maritime powers of the Scandinavian-Baltic region; - a state in which part of the political elite adhered to a pro-German orientation and advocated entering the war on the side of Germany and the Triple Alliance. In conclusion, it was concluded that the Kingdom of Sweden in «Russian Invalid» was presented as a state that sought to defend its national interests by all possible means, including fully preserving its state sovereignty, and therefore not to lose the right to independently determine the priorities and directions of its policy in the international arena.