The article is devoted to the analysis of the inspection of military units of the Russian army by the military and naval minister of the Provisional Government, A. F. Kerensky, in May 1917, and the reflection of this event in the capital's periodical press. Based on a wide range of newspaper sources, it examines the characteristics of the representation of Kerensky’s activities, his speeches, gestures, and personal behavior, which acquired symbolic significance in publications and served as tools for the formation of the image of the "revolutionary leader" and the "people's minister." The use of Petrograd newspapers with various political orientations allows for the reconstruction of the spectrum of interpretations of the trip in the public space of revolutionary Russia. The focus is not so much on the factual side of Kerensky's visits to the troops as on the media's ways of shaping their political and symbolic meaning. Special attention is paid to the role of the press as an active participant in the political process, which did not limit itself to the recording of facts but deliberately constructed the meaning and emotional background of what was happening. Methodologically, the work is based on the principles of historicism, systemicity, and objectivity. Key tools included discourse analysis of newspaper texts, a comparative-historical method, as well as elements of an imagological approach. The scientific novelty of the article lies in revealing the mechanisms of the formation of Kerensky's cult of personality through the capital press and analyzing their impact on public opinion. It is shown that Kerensky's front-line voyage was consciously constructed as a large-scale agitation and propaganda action aimed at strengthening discipline in the army, mobilizing soldiers to continue the war, and simultaneously increasing the minister's personal political capital. The Petrograd press acted as a key intermediary between the authorities, the army, and the rear, shaping the image of Kerensky as the central figure upon whom the salvation of the front and the outcome of the war depended. The article also reveals the dissonance between the officially transmitted optimism and the real state of the army, reflected in some critical, ironic, or ambiguous reactions of the press. It concludes that Kerensky’s inspection of the front became an important stage in the process of forming his cult and simultaneously demonstrated the limitations of propaganda impact in the context of an escalating crisis of power. The analysis allows for a deeper understanding of the role of the periodic press in 1917 as an active participant in the political struggle and the formation of public consciousness during the revolutionary era.
Maksim Sergeevich Volintsev (Sun,) studied this question.