Periodicals as a source of the information war history between the reds and whites in the civil war in the east of Russia (1917-1920)

The article investigates the informational confrontation between the Reds and Whites during the Civil War in eastern Russia based on the materials of a number of Ural newspapers. The periodicals were the most massive and popular means of information and an important weapon in the information war. The authors note that the Bolsheviks had a well-established agitation and propaganda apparatus and large circulation of newspapers, but their opponents had to start all over again. In whole, the structure of «red» and «white» newspapers repeats the publications of the pre-Soviet period, therefore the logical composition of the issues and many types of publications and headings were the same in all editions. The article analyzes general and specific features in the information confrontation, differences in the approaches of state, party and independent publications. The images of power, built with the help of publications in newspapers, overlapped and influenced each other at a certain time interval. The authors make a conclusion about factors that influenced the victory of the Reds in the information war. The manner of presentation of material and language of Kolchak's newspapers is largely designed for the intelligent reader. However, the Bolsheviks presented material in their newspapers in a simpler and more accessible manner. Already during the years of the Civil War, the Soviet government paid great attention to the elimination of illiteracy, especially in the Red Army. The Bolsheviks made wide use of oral agitation and organized meetings, lectures. The themes and problems of lectures of «white» professors were completely different and not very clear for the broad masses.