ВЗГЛЯД ИНОСТРАННЫХ ВОЕННЫХ КОРРЕСПОНДЕНТОВ НА МОРАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ СОСТОЯНИЕ РУССКОЙ АРМИИ В МАНЬЧЖУРИИ В 1904-1905 ГГ.
Authors: Ю.О. МАМОНОВА 
Published: November 2024

В статье представлены характеристики морально-психологического состояния личного состава русской армии в Маньчжурии в период Русско-японской войны 1904-1905 гг., данные аккредитованными при ней военными корреспондентами из Великобритании, Германии, Австро-Венгрии, Франции. Анализируются их представления о социально-психологических и боевых факторах, оказавших влияние на поведенческие акты и эмоциональное состояние русских солдат и офицеров. Делается вывод о значительной степени солидарности военкоров в системе их оценочных суждений. Журналисты единогласно фиксируют мотивационную недостаточность и видят главенствующую в этом роль характера боевых действий, а также другие причины: «размытость» представлений о враге, разобщенность офицерского корпуса, отношение российской общественности к армии и русско-японскому конфликту и др. Вместе с тем они отмечают отсутствие деморализации в войсках в силу особенностей русской дисциплины, психологических характеристик и веры в своего командира.

The article is devoted to the ideas of foreign war correspondents about the moral and psychological state of the Russian army personnel in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The research is based on the materials from representatives of the British, German, Austro-Hungarian, and French press, accredited by the Russian authorities and accompanying the Russian army in Manchuria. Much attention is given to the foreign correspondents’ assessments of some socio-psychological and combat factors that had a significant impact on the behavioral acts and emotional states of Russian soldiers and officers during the war: failures and successes in the theater of operations, the attitude of the Russian society to the Russo-Japanese conflict, features of interaction between representatives of various army structures and groups, the image of the enemy, the attitude of the civilian population to military service. The article reviews the correspondents’ assessments taking into consideration the personal professional experience and citizenship of foreign observers, the characteristics of the circle of interviewed persons, as well as the chronology of events on the battlefield. The author comes to the conclusion that the war correspondents demonstrated a significant degree of solidarity in their value judgments. They unanimously noted insufficient motivation of combatants and considered the defensive nature of military operations and frequent retreats as the main reason for this. The foreign war correspondents also identified some socio-psychological factors that had a negative impact on the morale of the Russian army in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905: lack of knowledge about the enemy and insufficient hostility towards him, problems with the Russian society’s attitude to military service and the Russo-Japanese conflict, and contradictions between various army structures. However, the war correspondents did not record demoralization among Russian soldiers and officers due to the features of discipline in the troops and faith in their commander.