The world continues marking the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI. The “First World War – prologue of the 20th century” International Science Conference opened in Moscow yesterday. Historians from 16 countries attending it called for complex studies and deep analysis of the largest military conflict.
Sergey Karpov, the dean of the MSU History Faculty, told Vestnik Kavkaza that “the main lesson of the First World War was in the responsibility for making political decisions, the weighing of all complicated situations that may appear in the world, in not reaching the point of no return. Because it is that moment that makes a great catastrophe inevitable.
Another lesson is that the patriotic conscience that was in many countries should not turn into a chauvinistic conscience. This is a very important moment too.
And another moment that needs considering is the role of political leadership, because it was shown in its weak form in many countries during the war.
Innumerable human sacrifices were made in the conflict. The sacrifices should be given proper evaluation. We need to worship the people who left their country, their freedom, their independence, who were not just killed for this or that, or fell as victims, but fighting for the Homeland in Russia, Belgium, in France, in other countries. This is a very important lesson as well.”
The historian highlighted the role of the Savage Division in WWI: “It certainly played a big part at different stages, including the Civil War. Documents clarify the role they played many times to break the front, how they were raised, what commanders-in-chief there were, how it was associated with local traditions of the Caucasus people, which was important because the role during the war was notable, it cannot be understated.”
In Karpov’s words, the MSU History Faculty will mark memorable events in the war: “Conferences will be held, work carried out, but we have come up with works dedicated to the anniversary of the war, to start in 2015 and conclude in 2020 with a composition of complicated, serious works, because such things are not done fast, they are prepared. In addition, a lot of archive materials from the history of the Great Patriotic War, the Second World War were accumulated. We may add something, but this supplement should be done systemically, it goes slowly, there is no need for haste here. We will round up any historiographical studies there were. We will go further, preparing very serious, big works for five years.”
Studies of WWI continue in the West. “We have a big project. About 200 Russian and Western scientists participate, and they all discuss this problem, the First World War. We are publishing a small collection, some 12 tomes about different aspects… For example, economics, the social aspect, foreign policy and, of course, the war itself,” says Professor David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye of Brock University, a historian. In Europe, in his words, few people know what was happening on the Eastern Front. In order to fill all the gaps, Canadian scientists are working on the historical collection.
The subject of Schimmelpenninck’s studies is an earlier history of Russia, the 19th century (some of his famous Russia-related works are “Toward the Rising Sun: Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan” and “Russia’s Great Game in Tibet”), but the WWI theme for him is more than a professional duty, it is his personal interest too.
In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, David Schimmelpenninck said that his great grandfather Nikolai Georgiyevich Peshchansky was born in Tbilisi and served in the Caucasus and Persia as a staff captain during WWI. “There are many legends about him. They say he was in disgrace. There was a legend that he occupied almost all of Persia. Those are legends of my aunt Irina, who lived in Paris. Aunt Irina was proudly telling me that her father was married three times. The first three wives died. The last one was a communist. He was 70, she was 17. They met in Constantinople. I do not know if it was so.”
Schimmelpenninck said that he had visited the Caucasus himself: “I was a post-graduate in Vladikavkaz. I was invited for a week. I was a very nervous man and counted the days I did not work in archives as lost. It was one of the biggest mistakes in my life. But my friend who was a post-graduate too defended his dissertation entitled “Cossacks on the Terek.” He saw all of North Ossetia. I was very touched that when I flew from Moscow, we made a visit immediately. There was a lot of food, bottles of vodka, cognac. We were sitting for four hours, there were very many chin-wags. Then the hosts invited us to take a rest, I lay down and in just half an hour I heard: “Dinner time!””
Now, Western historians are interested in military activities on the Caucasus Front, where Russian troops repelled an offensive near Lake Van in July 1915, losing some territory. Combat spread to the territory of Persia. On October 30, Russian forces were deployed at Port Enzeli. By late December, they had crushed the pro-Turkish forces and took control of Northern Persia, preventing a Persian assault against Russia and backing up the left flank of the Caucasus Army. In Schimmelpenninck’s words, “the most unknown front is the Caucasus Front, because interest in the Caucasus Front has risen. But so far, we have only one research in the English language. I do not know whether there is anything in German or French. Although after the partition of the Soviet Union, the West has been very interested in the Caucasus, almost nothing has been studied even in the light of the First World War anniversary.”
Says Sergey KarpovThe world continues marking the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI. The “First World War – prologue of the 20th century” International Science Conference opened in Moscow yesterday. Historians from 16 countries attending it called for complex studies and deep analysis of the largest military conflict.Sergey Karpov, the dean of the MSU History Faculty, told Vestnik Kavkaza that “the main lesson of the First World War was in the responsibility for making political decisions, the weighing of all complicated situations that may appear in the world, in not reaching the point of no return. Because it is that moment that makes a great catastrophe inevitable.Another lesson is that the patriotic conscience that was in many countries should not turn into a chauvinistic conscience. This is a very important moment too.And another moment that needs considering is the role of political leadership, because it was shown in its weak form in many countries during the war.Innumerable human sacrifices were made in the conflict. The sacrifices should be given proper evaluation. We need to worship the people who left their country, their freedom, their independence, who were not just killed for this or that, or fell as victims, but fighting for the Homeland in Russia, Belgium, in France, in other countries. This is a very important lesson as well.”The historian highlighted the role of the Savage Division in WWI: “It certainly played a big part at different stages, including the Civil War. Documents clarify the role they played many times to break the front, how they were raised, what commanders-in-chief there were, how it was associated with local traditions of the Caucasus people, which was important because the role during the war was notable, it cannot be understated.”In Karpov’s words, the MSU History Faculty will mark memorable events in the war: “Conferences will be held, work carried out, but we have come up with works dedicated to the anniversary of the war, to start in 2015 and conclude in 2020 with a composition of complicated, serious works, because such things are not done fast, they are prepared. In addition, a lot of archive materials from the history of the Great Patriotic War, the Second World War were accumulated. We may add something, but this supplement should be done systemically, it goes slowly, there is no need for haste here. We will round up any historiographical studies there were. We will go further, preparing very serious, big works for five years.”Studies of WWI continue in the West. “We have a big project. About 200 Russian and Western scientists participate, and they all discuss this problem, the First World War. We are publishing a small collection, some 12 tomes about different aspects… For example, economics, the social aspect, foreign policy and, of course, the war itself,” says Professor David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye of Brock University, a historian. In Europe, in his words, few people know what was happening on the Eastern Front. In order to fill all the gaps, Canadian scientists are working on the historical collection.The subject of Schimmelpenninck’s studies is an earlier history of Russia, the 19th century (some of his famous Russia-related works are “Toward the Rising Sun: Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan” and “Russia’s Great Game in Tibet”), but the WWI theme for him is more than a professional duty, it is his personal interest too.In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, David Schimmelpenninck said that his great grandfather Nikolai Georgiyevich Peshchansky was born in Tbilisi and served in the Caucasus and Persia as a staff captain during WWI. “There are many legends about him. They say he was in disgrace. There was a legend that he occupied almost all of Persia. Those are legends of my aunt Irina, who lived in Paris. Aunt Irina was proudly telling me that her father was married three times. The first three wives died. The last one was a communist. He was 70, she was 17. They met in Constantinople. I do not know if it was so.”Schimmelpenninck said that he had visited the Caucasus himself: “I was a post-graduate in Vladikavkaz. I was invited for a week. I was a very nervous man and counted the days I did not work in archives as lost. It was one of the biggest mistakes in my life. But my friend who was a post-graduate too defended his dissertation entitled “Cossacks on the Terek.” He saw all of North Ossetia. I was very touched that when I flew from Moscow, we made a visit immediately. There was a lot of food, bottles of vodka, cognac. We were sitting for four hours, there were very many chin-wags. Then the hosts invited us to take a rest, I lay down and in just half an hour I heard: “Dinner time!””Now, Western historians are interested in military activities on the Caucasus Front, where Russian troops repelled an offensive near Lake Van in July 1915, losing some territory. Combat spread to the territory of Persia. On October 30, Russian forces were deployed at Port Enzeli. By late December, they had crushed the pro-Turkish forces and took control of Northern Persia, preventing a Persian assault against Russia and backing up the left flank of the Caucasus Army. In Schimmelpenninck’s words, “the most unknown front is the Caucasus Front, because interest in the Caucasus Front has risen. But so far, we have only one research in the English language. I do not know whether there is anything in German or French. Although after the partition of the Soviet Union, the West has been very interested in the Caucasus, almost nothing has been studied even in the light of the First World War anniversa
