President Ebert of the Weimar Republic: "From the Newspapers I Learned that the German-Russian Agreement Has Been Signed and Published". The Case of an Unpublished Article in a Russian Newspaper in Germany

For citation: Lysenko A.V. (2017) Prezident Ebert: «Iz gazetnykh novostey ya uznayu, chto germano-rossiyskiy dogovor zaklyuchen i opublikovan». Epizod «nepublichnoy» zhurnalistiki emigrantskoy gazety «Rul'» [President Ebert of the Weimar Republic: "From the Newspapers I Learned that the German-Russian Agreement Has Been Signed and Published". The Case of an Unpublished Article in a Russian Newspaper in Germany]. Mediaskop4. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2371

© Artem V. Lysenko

PhD, Researcher at the Chair of Foreign Journalism and Literature, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia), artem.v.lysenko@gmail.com

Abstract

This publication considers a case of behind-the-scenes communication between the President of Germany Friedrich Ebert and a Russian newspaper for emigrants, "Rul'", after the signing of the German-Soviet Trade Agreement (1921). This agreement paved the way for future cooperation between Germany and Soviet Russia. As a result, Germany and Russia signed an agreement in 1922, under which both countries renounced all territorial and financial claims and agreed to normalise their diplomatic relations (Treaty of Rapallo).

An article about the German-Soviet Trade Agreement, written by the editor of "Rul'", was not published in his newspaper, but was sent directly to the German President for his information. From this article he learned that the "German-Russian agreement had been signed and published". In his discontent, he gave instructions to find out why it was signed without consulting him on the final version of the agreement.

What is the background of this story? The example of this case analysis also uncovers the polemics surrounding the pro-Soviet newspaper"Noviy mir" ("The New World"), the mission statement of the Russian press in exile and the specific character of the relationship between the press and the readership. The article is based on the results of research conducted at the Humboldt University Berlin and the Federal Archive in Germany during the program "Vladimir Vernadsky" of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Moscow State University.

Keywords: Russian Berlin, Russian Press in Germany, Russian Emigration, Press of Weimar Republic, Treaty of Rapallo.

Notes

Bundesarchiv [The Federal Archives]. R901, S VII, Microfiche 130; R. 131, Mikrofisch 6.

D'Abernon, Edgar Vincent, "From Spa (1920) to Rapallo (1922)"/ An Ambassador of peace: Lord d'Abernon's diary; Vol. 1. 1929. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Gessen I.V. (1979) Gody izgnaniya. Zhiznennyy otchet [Years of Exile. Life Report]. Paris: YMCA-PRESS.

Novyy mir. 1921, May.

Rul'. 1921, May.

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