the First World War

The First World War in the mass consciousness of the Russians is still forgotten. The Supreme commanders who did not bring glory to the Russian army in battles and the reasons of their invalidity as military leaders are unknown to the mass reader. The Supreme Commander of the North-West Front, Cavalry General J.G. Zshilinsky, is one of those people, who happened to become a hostage of the depraved system of promotion in the army, which had been formed in the Emperor’s Russia by the end of the 19-th century.

The author of the article considers the peculiarities of the Russian society’s perception of the great Czech philosopher Jan Hus’ heritage during the First World War and identifies the causes of the sudden surge of interest towards this personality and doctrine in Russia in 1914–1918.

The article, based on Russian periodic press, deals with the tragic fate of the Armenian people who were subjected to deportation and genocide during the First World War, The author analyzes the causes and stages of the genocide, reveals the mechanism of the Armenian population’s destruction.