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Author : A. Kuznetsov
Director, Department of History and Records, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Very much like many people in our country I look at this war as
one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Russia: it lost the
state which had been developing on its territory for a millennium.
Russia's development had been evolutionary, not free, however,
from problems and complications. On the eve of the war, it was
developing by leaps and bounds, something which Europe feared
and could not accept. World War I cut short this progress.
The tragedy of Russia was a tragedy of the victor that lost its vic-
tory. Russia's share in the victory of the Entente was huge even
though this is passed over in silence at the numerous conferences
and discussions going on all over the world. Russia saved France from complete routing
and also saved itself: having destroyed France in a lightning campaign
This generation should be aware of this history and should learn from it. I mean not only
Russia but this generation of politicians especially in view of what is going on in the world.
Today, we are confronted with the dangers very similar to those of July 1914: the same ar-
rogance, the same feeling of exclusiveness, the same rejection of what other states think,
the same tendency to confrontation and pressure, and the readiness to use force. This was
obvious 100 years ago and this is no less obvious today. If the lessons of World War I re-
main ignored despite discussions, conferences and publications the future will hold no
promise.
The phenomenon of World War I is interesting because in July 1914 nobody could imagine
the catastrophic scope of its repercussions.
In Russia, the very intensive studies of the last few years have allowed us to revise the pre-
revolutionary history of Russia and its foreign policy and to arrive at the following: first,
Russia did not want a war; second, Russian diplomacy tried hard to prevent it. Russia was,
however, part of the international system which was gradually sliding toward a conflict in
Europe. Russia could not jump off the footboard of the train moving toward a war and,
equally, it could not abandon Serbia to its fate. That would have meant that Russia relin-
quished its historical interests, its solidarity with the Orthodox peoples and its obligations.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Western leaders tended to consistently under-
estimate the positive role of Russia in Europe and the fact that at all times Russia was a
guarantor of security if it was indivisible security. We insist on equal security in Europe
rather than on security for some countries at the expense of others. This is one of the les-
The Tragedy of Russia: The Victor that Lost the Victory