Remembering «the great war»: comparative analysis of two ego-documents

This paper reports on a theoretical study of collective memory, discourse analysis, and comparative historical method of the memories of the two Russian generals who took part in the First World War and the Russian Civil War. They then became emigrants to the United States. The memoirs of General Baron Alexey Pavlovich Budberg (1869-1945) about the First World War were in part published in the 1930s and early 1940s in the journal «Bulletin of Society of Russian veterans of the Great War» (San Francisco). The memories of General Victorin Mikhailovich Molchanov (1886-1975) appeared much later and were recorded on tape in 1970 by the American historian Boris Raymond in the form of oral stories. Budberg had served as General in the headquarters, and was in command of divisions and army corps. His outlook in many respects is a birds’ eye view from the staff officers, while also having didactic instructions. Another author of memoirs, Molchanov, started the war at the rank of Captain and held positions at the secondary level of commanders. He became Lieutenant Colonel by the end of the military campaign. His assessment of the war is a view from the trench, with the description of everyday military routine. In fact, these memories are discourses about the events of the First World War on the «Eastern» (Russian) Front, which construct the identity of their authors, reproduce certain knowledge, and confirm their views on the events of the war.