Стр. 46 - V

Author : V. Kuznechevsky
Doctor of Science (History)
THE COLOSSAL HISTORIOGRAPHY of World
War I has been augmented by another study by a
Russian historian - S.E. Tsvetkov, lecturer at the
Moscow International University - entitled "The
Last War of the Russian Empire." Perhaps it would
not be an exaggeration to say that in terms of cov-
erage and historical outreach, this book does not
have many equivalents not only in Russian but also
in foreign literature. From all indications, the author
is aware of that, modestly noting in the preface: "I have set the task of creating a memorable
image of that war, which is practically unknown in our country."
The book is comprised of five large parts, which play the role of chapters, an epilogue and an
impressive bibliographical list of 180 items, including practically all (from 1913 to 2013) main
monographs by Russian and foreign researchers and journalistic publications devoted to World
War I, as well as the memoirs of the main participants in the events of those years and docu-
mentary sources.
Unlike many studies describing this unprecedented worldwide carnage with the participation of
38 states of the world's 59 states at that time, the author of the book under review does not
confine himself to the description and analysis of only the main, key events and battles of the
war but closely follows the course of hostilities on all the fronts - Western, Eastern, Turkish,
and Balkans - from the moment preparations for military actions began until the last day of the
war.
The author studies in detail and analyzes not only the development and strategy of major offen-
sive and defensive operations but also the way military actions were perceived by the actual par-
ticipants: generals, soldiers, logistics specialists, doctors and so on.
Based on documentary analysis, the author makes what I believe is a very interesting conclusion:
Contrary to the established perception in world (including Russian) historiography, it was not
German Kaiser Wilhelm II who was ultimately responsible for unleashing World War I. The
documents cited by the author show that Wilhelm did not believe until the very last moment
that the war could break out.
The author does a very interesting analysis of the Kornilov revolt of September 9, 1917, which
at first glance had nothing to do with World War I.
The author puts forward some interesting, albeit not new, ideas to the effect that Nicholas II's
alliance with Britain and France before the war did not arise from the historical logic of Russia's
relations with European states. Russia's alliance with Germany against Britain would have been
more natural. However, history is impervious to hypothesizing on what would have been.
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
The Syrian Entanglement: Metastasis of World War I?