Resignation of Foreign Minister S. D. Sazonov: Public Diplomacy in Context of World War I

Abstract

This study examines the role of print media in promoting diverse perspectives on the foreign policy of the Russian Empire during World War I. It provides a comprehensive review of articles from both Russian and foreign press that analyzed the reasons and consequences surrounding the resignation of Foreign Minister S. D. Sazonov. The analysis is grounded in materials drawn from eleven domestic and six international publications, supplemented by archival documents. The article highlights the media’s capacity to create a unique public discourse that facilitated the promotion of ideas that had long remained outside public discussion. The authors argue that the events of July 1916 marked a turning point not only in terms of Russia’s cooperation with various countries but also in shaping the country’s domestic political trajectory. The debate surrounding Sazonov’s resignation revealed that not only the supreme authority but also influential state figures served as essential guarantors of established governmental agreements, and neglecting this understanding undermined the previous public discourse while fostering a new one. Analyzing the shifts in the country’s political development indicates that these changes were linked to attempts to address recently emerging trends in foreign policy, with the chosen course contributing significantly to the forthcoming revolutionary upheavals.