The image of Eastern Galicia on the on the pages of the military periodical «The Chronicle of the War of 1914–1917» in the first years of the First World War (1914–1915)

This article examines the distinctive features of the image of Eastern (Rusyn) Galicia, as shaped by correspondents of the military journal «The Chronicle of the War of 1914–1917» in the pages of their periodical during the early years of World War I (1914–1915). This primordial, historical part of Russian civilization, forcibly «torn» from the Russian state in the second half of the 14th century, was presented in the pages of «The Chronicle...» as a region that, by the beginning of the Great War, had managed to maintain a close spiritual and historical connection with the Russian people and sought reunification with the Russian Empire. In their publications, the «The Chronicle...» correspondents also highlighted the fact that Eastern Galicia experienced over five centuries of socioeconomic, cultural, and religious oppression at the hands of the Austrians and Poles. During this period, a new East Slavic ethnic group, the Ruthenians, emerged on its territory, although they still considered themselves part of East Slavic civilization. Historical-genetic and historical-comparative research methods were used in writing this work. Historical imagology plays a special role in examining the image of Eastern Galicia and the mechanisms of its creation and maintenance. This approach involves a deep, comprehensive analysis of the specific historical causes and conditions of its emergence in the public and cultural consciousness of the Russian Empire in 1914–1915. The conclusion is that the periodical «The Chronicle of the War of 1914–1917» served as one of the tools for influencing the consciousness of the subjects of the Russian Empire during the First World War. This magazine contributed to the dissemination and popularization among its readers of the idea that Eastern Galicia is a historical region that, despite the deliberate external influence (Polonization and Catholicization) of the Polish and Austrian monarchies, retained its unique East Slavic identity, and therefore should be part of the Russian state.