Mikhail Skobelev: The Creation and Persistence of a Legend Master’s Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Duncan Richardson, BA Master of Arts in Slavic and East European Studies The Ohio State University 2019 Thesis Committee Nicholas Breyfogle, Adviser Scott Levi Copyright by Duncan Richardson 2019 Abstract This paper analyzes the creation and manipulation of a modern myth through an examination of the career of Lieutenant-General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. From the summer of 1877 until his death in 1882, Mikhail Skobelev’s career and reputation enjoyed a meteoric rise among the Russian people, within the Russian army, and all over the world. He became an icon of Russian Imperial might and a hero to the Russian lower classes, as well as a figure of international renown. This reputation was shaped and created in the popular press, particularly mass-circulation papers such as the British London Daily News and the Russian Golos. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 correspondents for these publications, including J. A. MacGahan, Archibald Forbes, and Vasiliy Nemirovich-Danchenko, presented Skobelev to their readers with glowing praise and helped to forge an enduring legend surrounding the general. This legend was then used after Skobelev’s death by groups within Russia, including the Pan-Slavs and military reformers, to build support for their ideologies. Utilizing the original newspapers, archival materials, published memoirs, and secondary sources, this paper analyzes how these authors crafted the legend surrounding the general and how that legend was then instrumentalized ii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the tremendous assistance given to me throughout this project by several individuals, including my advisor Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle, the helpful and professional staff at Columbia University’s Butler Library, the staff of Ohio State University’s Thompson Library, and fellow graduate students who assisted in finding sources, refining ideas, and providing moral support. I would also like to thank the IREX “U.S.-Russia Experts,” program for giving me the funding necessary to conduct the archival research in New York essential to this project. iii Vita May 2013 ................................................................................. Bowling Green High School May 2017 .......................................................................... B.A. History, The Ohio State University January 2019 ............................................................. IREX U.S. Russia Experts Fellowship Forum April 2019 .................................................................................. 2019 Mid-West Slavic Conference Fields of Study Major Field Slavic and Eastern European Studies iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Prologue: A Death in Moscow ............................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: The Life and Times of the “White General” ......................................................2 Chapter 2: Youth and Early Career: Born to be a Soldier ...................................................8 Chapter 3: Prelude to War: The Great Eastern Crisis ........................................................15 Chapter 4: The Russo-Turkish War and the Making of a Legend .....................................20 Chapter 5: A Political Soldier: The Akhal-Tekke Expedition and the Paris Speeches .....42 Chapter 6: Using a Legend: Military Reform and Pan-Slavism ........................................49 Chapter 7: The Endurance of a Legend: A Tale of Two Monuments ...............................59 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................66 v List of Figures Figure 1. Vasilii Vereshchagin, The Battlefield at the Shipka Pass ..................................37 Figure 2. Anonymous, Moscow, Mikhail Skobelev Monument Inauguration ............................ 61 Figure 3. Anonymous, Skobelev Monument .................................................................................. 63 vi Prologue: A Death in Moscow “What is to become of us without you?” In July 1882, the Russian Empire entered a state of national mourning. Masses were held, speeches were made, and crowds gathered to lament in the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Peasants, soldiers, and aristocrats were united for a moment by shared loss. Lieutenant-General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev, a war hero with the status of Alexander Suvorov, Pyotr Bagration, or Mikhail Kutuzov in the 19th century pantheon, was dead. At the age of 38, Skobelev had achieved more in his brief career than many military officers could hope to in a lifetime. His death was greeted with utter disbelief. Officers who knew him reacted to the announcement with a dismissive, “it is impossible for Skobelev to die.”1 Tsar Alexander III himself lamented the General’s death, and crowds thronged to watch the funeral train carrying his remains from Moscow to his family’s estate outside of St. Petersburg. His death was even reported in the international press, obituaries appearing as far afield as Australia. How did this happen? How did a common born soldier rise to a position of such prominence? 1 Vasilii Nemirovich-Danchenko, Personal Reminiscences of General Skobeleff, Trans. by E. A. Brayley Hodgetts (London: W. H. Allen and Co., 1884), 9. 1 Chapter 1: The Life and Times of the White General Lieutenant-General Mikhail Dimitrievich Skobelev, or the “White General,” as he was known in the popular press, was one of the most dynamic and complicated figures of late 19th century Russia. He was a darling of the press, both the gutter and the mainstream, and he was almost as beloved by the general populace of Russia as he was despised by his enemies among the military establishment, the members of the Imperial Court, and the bureaucracy. According the accounts written by his friends he was a brilliant military officer who earned his awards and accolades through a combination of white-knuckle daring and cold tactical calculation. However, he tarnished his reputation with a calculated brutality that shocked even 19th century audiences when reports of massacres reached Europe from Central Asia. While Skobelev’s life and career were extraordinary in their own right, they were elevated in significance by the times in which he lived and the people who chose to turn a remarkable man into an unbelievable legend. Examining Skobelev’s life and career and the legend surrounding him reveals two broad themes: the close relationship between war-time journalism and mythmaking, and the usage of war heroes for political and propaganda purposes. Skobelev was an extraordinary man, who’s achievements were made into an even more extraordinary legend by a core group of journalists during the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War. These journalists, a mix of Americans, Englishmen, Russians, and others—all part of a new and rapidly changing profession—filled a 2 role as modern mythmakers. These writers created heroes and tore them down, all in an effort to sell more newspapers and make their own careers.2 Myths and legends are powerful propaganda tools. From the myth of the American Cowboy being used to sell Marlboro cigarettes, to creating conceptions of national identity, modern myths are created and instrumentalized to achieve a vast array of objectives. Mikhail Skobelev’s legend was no different. That legend was then utilized by groups within Russia for political and propaganda purposes. Among these, the Pan-Slavists and a group of military reformers stand-out. These groups utilized Skobelev’s legend to advocate for their own political objectives in the waning decades of the 19th century. They took the legend that had been created by war-time correspondents and expanded it to suit their needs. Pan-Slavism was a new politico-philosophical ideology, introduced to Russia in the mid- 19th century from the Slavic intellectuals of the Hapsburg Empire. It had a close relationship with the Slavophiles, the Russian intellectual movement that emphasized Russia’s distinct identity and opposed the Westernizing influences begun by Peter I’s reforms in the 18th century. Pan-Slavism advocated for unity among the Slavic peoples based on ethno-linguistic and religious ties. In Russia this ideology came to embrace a form of Russian messianism that called for Russia to unite and lead the various Slavic peoples of Eastern and Central Europe who lived under the rule of the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires. Pan-Slavism grew rapidly in Russia and greatly influenced Russia’s relationships with the Ottomans, Habsburgs, and the Balkan states, especially Serbia.3 Skobelev was closely linked with the ideology during his life and