The phrase we need a small victorious war belongs to. V.K. Plehve: “To hold the revolution, we need a small victorious war”

The words of the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Pleve do not lose their relevance, nor do the consequences of these words. History repeats itself, and in Russia it repeats itself with enviable regularity. By the way, January 2014 was the 110th anniversary of this statement.

Vyacheslav Konstantinovich was confident of victory over Japan, a country that had recently emerged from medieval savagery. And Russia has long been a Great Power with a powerful army and navy! But Russia also had small problems even then - a crisis of power and a brewing revolution. Plehve decided that the explosion of “patriotism” and chauvinistic frenzy would make the people forget about their pressing problems and return with delight to the shadow of the Sovereign Emperor.

The war with Japan ended in a shameful defeat on all fronts, and this despite the fact that the Japanese ground army was truly backward at the beginning of the war. But the apotheosis of national shame was, of course, Tsushima - the battle of the Russian fleet with the Japanese. I highly recommend reading the second volume of the book “Tsushima” by Novikov-Priboy - it was written not just by a researcher of the event, but by a direct participant.

The newest battleships did not help win the battle. The Spiritual Bonds did not help either - each battleship had an on-board church and a full-time priest, the crews of all ships knew by heart all the necessary prayers and performed them collectively every day. However, in a real battle it turned out that this was not enough. It turns out that the Russian sailors did not know how to aim their guns and took twice as long as the Japanese to load them. Russian officers were helpless in controlling fire at a real battle distance, and the admirals were unable to lead the squadron. The commander, Admiral Rozhestvensky, clearly relied in battle on the Will of God - i.e. the admiral himself did not make a single decision. But the Lord then turned away from the Orthodox.

The artillery duel of the two squadrons turned into a formal execution of the Russians by the Japanese; moreover, the Japanese shot the Russians with complete impunity - Russian shells did not hit the Japanese ships. And when the crews of the sunken ships found themselves in the water, it turned out that the majority of Russian sailors who could not swim (70% did not know how to swim) also did not know how to use life-saving equipment - the father-commanders forced the sailors to pray, but forgot to teach them how to put on a life belt, and they themselves They hardly knew how. As a result, the sailors tied the belt too low and the body turned upside down in the water. Jerking legs raised into the sky in the light of Japanese searchlights is very cinematic. A scene from Titanic resting. You can make the wonderful blockbuster “Tsushima” by replacing the line of love with the line of heroism of Russian sailors. I speak about heroism completely without irony - there was heroism. There was no sense in heroism.

The “little victorious war” ended in shame and revolution, which was defeated only by executions and Stolypin ties. True, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Plehve himself did not live - six months after he uttered the words about a “victorious war,” he was torn apart by a revolutionary terrorist’s bomb. It is interesting that the revolutionary terrorists were led by a highly paid agent of the tsarist secret police, Yevno Azef.

Ten years after the first, the second “small victorious war” occurred, better known today as the First World War. Then, too, there was an explosion of “patriotism” and national chauvinism. Russian society unanimously welcomed the war. Let's save the Serb brothers! - And the Russian army crossed the borders of Germany and Austria-Hungary. And then there was confidence in an imminent victory. Alexei Tolstoy describes a scene in “Walking Through Torment”: a journalist runs up to the general shouting: “Well, your Excellency, will we be in Berlin in a month?”

And this time it didn’t work out. The second “small victorious war” of the Russian Empire ended now with the collapse of the ruling regime.

The third “small victorious war” was a “war with little bloodshed and on foreign territory.” Not only Stalin, but also his entire entourage quite seriously thought so - there is simply documentary evidence of this. I believe that after the news of the German attack, Stalin was of course very annoyed (he did not expect Hitler to do such a stupid thing), but at the same time he firmly believed that the valiant Red Army would immediately push the enemy back from the borders and further, as planned - “a small war blood and on foreign territory." On the afternoon of June 22, 1941, the boys were arguing among themselves: “Have ours taken Warsaw or are the Germans still holding Warsaw?” - this is in the memories of one of these boys. The boy experienced a lot, grew up and wrote memoirs.

The fourth “small victorious war” is Putin’s Crimean War. This is quite according to Plehve: “To hold the revolution, we need a small victorious war.” Putin’s economy is in trouble, but this is carefully hidden from the people, which is why Putin staged a “patriotic” show with the annexation of Crimea. And again an explosion of “patriotism” and national chauvinism...

And it will all end, as always, in great shocks for Russia. History teaches that... it teaches fools nothing.

In January 1904, Russia and Japan were completing preparations for a war for dominance in the Far East. The Minister of War was then Kuropatkin, and the Minister of Internal Affairs and chief of the Gendarme Corps was Vyacheslav Pleve. Just before the start of the war, Kuropatkin allegedly accused Plehve of indulging its instigators “and joining a gang of political swindlers.” Pleve replied: “Alexey Nikolaevich, you don’t know the internal situation in Russia. To hold the revolution, we need a small, victorious war.”

This is what they say in history books. But where is this dialogue known? From “Memoirs” of Sergei Yulievich Witte, completed in 1912 and published a decade later, after the author’s death. Plehve, we recall, was killed by the Socialist Revolutionaries in July 1905 and could neither confirm nor deny Witte’s reports.

But Vladimir Gurko, a prominent employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in his book “Features and Silhouettes of the Past” argued that Plehve “definitely did not want this war (...).” His testimony should be taken seriously. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the gendarmerie department, as a rule, was least inclined to mischief - precisely because it was better familiar with the internal situation of the country,

The formula of a “small victorious war” did not appear out of nowhere. By the beginning of the 20th century, the most recent example of such a war was the Spanish-American War of 1898. The war was declared on April 25; On June 22, the Americans landed in Cuba (which then belonged to Spain), on July 3, the capital of Cuba, Santiago, fell, and on August 12, a peace treaty was concluded. Cuba became an American protectorate; Moreover, America received a base in Guantanamo Bay, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam, and at the same time annexed Hawaii - that is, it became the predominant power in the Pacific Ocean. Only approx. died in battle and from wounds. 1 thousand Americans, another 4.5 thousand died from tropical diseases.

The First Regiment of Volunteer Cavalry, recruited, on the initiative of Theodore Roosevelt, from cowboys, athletes and policemen, distinguished itself more than others. Roosevelt became deputy regiment commander. Contrary to its name, the regiment fought on foot: it was not possible to transfer horses to Cuba. On July 27, 1898, when the outcome of the war was already clear, the US ambassador in London, John Hay, wrote to Roosevelt: “It has been a brilliant little war.” That same year, Roosevelt, the hero of the “brilliant little war,” became governor of New York, two years later vice president, and a year later, after the assassination of President McKinley, president. In 1900, his book “Description of the Spanish-American War” was published; It was here that Hay's letter was printed.

As is known, the peace treaty between Russia and Japan was concluded in Portsmouth (USA) through the efforts of Witte and through the mediation of Theodore Roosevelt. It is quite possible that the “little victorious war” in Witte’s “Memoirs” was simply a “translation into Russian” of the “brilliant little war.” However, Witte's formula could have other sources.

During the First World War (i.e. before the publication of Witte’s “Memoirs”) the expression “short victorious war” was found in the American and French press. This is how the intentions of German strategists in 1914 were assessed in retrospect. One of the books published in 1918 said: “The Kaiser did not want this war, but a fun, short, victorious war.”

The patent for the “fun war” belongs to the Germans. In the middle of the 19th century. historian and publicist Heinrich Leo published the “People's Newspaper for Town and Country”. In 1853, on the pages of this newspaper, he declared: “Deliver us, God, from the rot of the European nations, and grant us a fresh, joyful war that will shake Europe.” Six years later he repeated this expression in the same newspaper. In “Winged Words” by S. Zaimovsky (1930) this phrase is translated as “fresh, cheerful war.” And in 1913, the German Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, in the preface to the collection “Germany under Arms,” stated: “The fresh and joyful spirit of the ancestors should be revived.” Everyone knows how it ended.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Wellington, the winner of Waterloo, said: “There are no small wars for a great nation” (speech in the House of Lords on January 16, 1838). Oddly enough, George Bush Sr. said almost the same thing on January 18, 1991, the day Operation Desert Storm began: “There is no cheap or easy war.”

I’ll end with an anecdote that appeared on the RuNet three years ago:
“Vladislav Surkov gives lectures at the Academy of the General Staff. He is asked a question:
- What types of troops are needed to get a small victorious war?
- RTR, NTV, TVC...
- What about “First”?
“Well, we’re not animals!”

Konstantin Dushenko.

XXcentury.

OptionI

I

1. The idea of ​​a “small victorious war” belonged to:

A. Zubatov; B. Ermolov. V. Kuropatkin. G. Plehve.

2. A proposal to organize a meeting of the people offended by the tsar in January 1905 was put forward by:

A. Miliukov. B. Guchkov. B. Gapon. G. Chernov.

3. According to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Russia:

A. Acquired Crimea. B. Lost South Sakhalin.

B. Lost Finland. G. Lost Kare.

A. Convene the State Duma. B. Give the peasants land.

B. Adopt the Constitution. D. Establish democracy in Russia.

5. Center of the December 1905 armed uprising in Moscow:

A. China town. B. Butyrsky Val.

B. Presnya. G. Garden Ring.

6. The policy of forced destruction of the community is associated with:

A. With an attempt to create a class of small and medium-sized owners.

B. With the severity of the agrarian question.

B. With the acceleration of the development of sparsely populated lands.

D. Because the common life of the peasants makes the work of the revolutionaries easier.

7. The Stolypin agrarian reform actually provided for:

A. Preservation of landownership. B. Abolition of landownership.

IN. Strengthening communal land tenure. D. Transfer of arable land for rent.

8. The Silver Age of Russian culture accounts for:

A. For the 60-90s. XIX century B. For the 40-60s. XIX century

B. At the beginning of XX V. D. For the 1st quarter XIX century

9. The class in Russia was considered to be:

A. Kulaks. B. Clergy. B. Peasants. G. Workers.

10. Creator of the first aircraft in Russia:

A. Mozhaisky. B. Tsiolkovsky. B. Zhukovsky. G. Nesterov.

11. The main obstacle to Russian dominance in the Far East was (was):

A. Korea. B. China. IN THE USA. G. Japan.

12. Russian workers at the beginning XXV. were deprived of civil rights. For participation in strikes, strikes, the following was due:

A. Imprisonment. B. Fine. B. Link. G. Workout.

13. The Treaty of Portsmouth between Russia and Japan was signed through the mediation of:

A. Germany. B. Italy. B. France. G. USA.

14. The workers' petition, which they carried on January 9, 1905, contained demands:

A. Both economic and political. B. Economic.

B. Political. G. Household plan.

A. Stolypin. B. Witte. B. Bulygin. G. Plehve.

16. The first act of the Stolypin government was the decree of November 9, 1906, the main idea of ​​which was:

A. Destruction of the peasant community. B. Limitation of landownership.

B. Liquidation of communal property. D. Introduction of private property.

A. Democratization. B. Liberalization.

B. Limitation of landownership. D. Destruction of the community.

18. The class in Russia was considered to be:

A. Merchants. B. The bourgeoisie. B. Kulaks. G. Peasantry.

19. Corporal punishment in Russia lasted until... a year:

A.1905. B. 1861. V. 1881. G. 1917.

IIExercise. Answer the questions:

1 What is an industrial society? What signs are characteristic of it?

2. What are the reasons for the Russo-Japanese War, which is the main one in your opinion?

III

ABOUT FOREIGN CAPITAL. FROM THE REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE S. Y. WITTE

Recently, voices have been heard against the influx of capital from abroad, insisting that it causes damage to the fundamental interests of the people, that it seeks to absorb all the income of the growing Russian industry, that it, in essence, leads to the sale of our productive wealth... A machine brought to Russia and manufactured here, although it belongs to a foreigner, will still work in the Russian environment. And she will not work alone. It will require raw materials, fuel, lighting and other auxiliary materials, it will require human labor to help itself, and its owner will have to buy all this in Russia... From the ruble paid for the products of an enterprise established even with the help of foreign capital, approximately from 25 to 40 kopecks. should go to the Russian worker, then a significant part will go to pay for raw materials and auxiliary materials, and only from 3 to 10 kopecks. will come from the profit of the entrepreneur himself; when paying for goods imported from abroad, the entire ruble will leave Russia, and neither the producer of raw materials, nor the producer of fuel, nor, finally, the worker will receive a penny.

QUESTIONS:

1. Name the features of the Russian economy at the beginning XX V. What circumstances caused them? 2. Describe the role of the state in the economic life of Russia at the beginning XX c What were the positive and negative aspects of active government intervention in the country’s economy?

Test on the topic Russia at the beginning XXcentury.

OptionII

IExercise. Test (1-19 questions)

1. The Russian delegation at the negotiations with Japan on the conclusion of the Portsmouth Peace was headed by:

A. Stolypin. B. Bulygin. B. Plehve. G. Witte.

2. Russians received freedom of speech, press, and street processions for the first time:

A. 19 February 1861 B. After the overthrow of the Tsar.

3. In social-class relations, the most acute contradiction in Russia began XXV. there was a contradiction between:

A. Landowners and peasants. B. Entrepreneurs and workers.

B. Russians and foreigners. G. Nobles and boyars.

4. The social meaning of Stolypin’s agrarian reform was:

A. Disperse the peasants among the farms. B. Create a wide layer of small and medium-sized owners.

B. Distract the peasants from the revolution. D. Develop and populate underdeveloped territories.

5. Stolypin became widely known for his activities as governor of the city:

A. Yaroslavl. B. Voronezh. B. Saratov. G. Petersburg.

6. The party used terror:

A. Mensheviks. B. Bolshevikov. B. Social Revolutionaries. G. Anarchists.

7. The painting “Boyaryna Morozova” is written:

A. Surikov. B. Perov. B. Vasnetsov. G. Savrasov.

8. The starting date for the emergence of legal political parties is considered to be:

A. 19 February 1861 B. June 3, 1907 B.1 March 1907 D. October 17, 1905

9. The formula “First calm, and then reform” belonged to:

A. Nicholas II. B. Witte. B. Plehve. G. Stolypin.

10. The idea of ​​“political socialism” belonged to:

A. Stolypin. B. Benckendorff. B. Plehve. G. Zubatov.

11. The law on the integrity of the community was repealed on the initiative of:

A. Stolypin. B. Witte. V. Kadetov. G. Trudovikov.

12. At firstXXcentury, an association of artists arose who defended the idea of ​​“pure art” and published the magazine “World of Art”. The ideologist of this movement was:

A. Benoit. B. Serov. V. Malevich. G. Surikov.

13. The most outstanding thinkers of Russia were:

A. Westerners. B. Slavophiles. V. Populists. G. Marxists.

14. The great Russian chemist:

A. Pavlov. B. Sechenov. B. Mendeleev. G. Popov.

15. The nickname “Count of Polusakhalinsky” was:

A. Bezobrazov. B. Plehve. B. Witte. G. Alekseev.

16. What were the rates of development of industrial production after Stolypin’s reform:

A. The highest. B. Low. B. Average. D. Second after the USA.

A. Tsiolkovsky. B. Mozhaisky. B. Zhukovsky. G. Vernadsky.

18. By the term “socialization of the land” the Socialist Revolutionaries understood:

A. Introduction of private ownership of land.

B. Transferring it only to peasants.

B. Selling land to anyone.

D. Withdrawal from commodity circulation and transformation of all lands into public property.

19. Russia's first war in XXcentury began with the event:

A. Attacks of the Japanese squadron on Port Arthur. B. Battles of Liaodong.

B. Battles on the Shahe River. G. Battle of Tsushima.

IIExercise. Answer the questions:

1. What goals were pursued by the agrarian reform proclaimed by P. A. Stolypin?

2. What are the reasons for the revolution of 1905, which is the main one in your opinion?

IIIExercise. Working with a document.

DOCUMENT

L. N. TOLSTOY ABOUT THE POLITICAL REGIME OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AT THE BEGINNING XX V. FROM L. N. TOLSTOY'S LETTER TO NICHOLAS II (1902)

A third of Russia is under enhanced security, that is, outside the law. The army of police - overt and covert - is growing. Prisons, places of exile and hard labor are overcrowded, in addition to hundreds of thousands of criminal and political prisoners, which now include workers. Censorship has reached absurdities in prohibition that it did not reach in the worst times of the 40s. Religious persecution has never been as frequent and cruel as it is now, and is becoming crueler and crueler. Troops are concentrated everywhere in cities and factory centers and sent with live ammunition against the people. In many places there have already been fratricidal bloodsheds, and everywhere they are preparing and there will inevitably be new and even more cruel ones.

And as a result of all this intense and cruel activity of the government, the agricultural people - those 100 million on which the power of Russia rests - despite the enormously increasing state budget, or rather as a result of this increase, is becoming poorer every year, so that hunger has become normal phenomenon. And the same phenomenon was general dissatisfaction with the government of all classes and hostility towards it. And the reason for all this, obviously clear, is one: that your assistants assure you that, by stopping any movement of life among the people, they ensure the well-being of this people and your peace and security. But it is more likely to stop the flow of a river than the eternal forward movement of humanity established by God.

QUESTIONS:

1. Describe Nikolai’s personal qualities and political views II . Why was the personality of the monarch of great importance in Russia?

2. What points of view on the prospects for the country’s development existed during this period in Russian society and the government? (Use the document when answering)

Test on the topic Russia at the beginning XXcentury.

OptionIII

IExercise. Test (1-19 questions)

1. The agreement, called “cordial agreement”, was concluded between the countries:

A. France and England. B. Russia and France.

B. Germany and Italy. G. Russia and Bulgaria.

2. After the Treaty of Portsmouth, the focus of Russian foreign policy shifted:

A. To China. B. To Korea. B. To the Balkans. G. To Europe.

3. After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's territorial losses were expressed in the transfer to Japan:

A. South Sakhalin. B. Kuril Islands.

B. Sakhalin. The city of Sakhalin with adjacent islands.

4. Russian artistic culture of the Silver Age was influenced by what originated in the West:

A. Symbolism. B. Eclecticism. B. Realism. G. Modernism.

5. In May 1905, in the Tsushima Strait, the Japanese defeated a squadron sent to help from the Baltic under the command of:

A. Makarova. B. Alekseeva. B. Rozhestvensky. G. Stark.

6. In September 1905, a sailors' uprising broke out in Sevastopol, led by:

A. Frunze. B. Bauman. V. Schmidt. G. Schanzer.

7. INIThe State Duma received the majority of seats:

A. Cadets. B. Social Revolutionaries. B. Bolsheviks. G. Black Hundreds.

8. Stolypin's reform program included the adoption of a number of laws that would contribute to the transformation of Russia:

A. Into a constitutional monarchy. B. In a legal state.

B. To a presidential republic. G. To the republic.

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 meme (77) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

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