MODERN NATIONAL HISTORIOGRAPHY ON THE ATTITUDE OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY TO THE ENTENTE ALLIES

The issues on the diplomacy in public opinion and public consciousness is becoming increasingly important in modern domestic research on the history of Russia's foreign policy. The article analyzes the works devoted to the social perception of Russia's relations with allies in the Entente. The attention is paid to the historiography of the foreign political ideas of liberal and conservative leaders represented in political discourse, nonfiction works and periodicals. Liberals and conservatives were not only the object of public judgements - they formed them as well. A significant range of works deals with the problem of the relationship between the Entente allies and the Russian population. The social perception of England and France is considered by researchers both at the level of direct political, economic and military contacts, and based on an abstract image of an ally in the mass consciousness. The evolution of public perceptions of the allies was determined by the situation in the country and on the fronts and by the role of foreign stereotypes. The author analyzes the interconnection of alliance issue with the national interests of Russia, reveals research approaches to the study of the development of Patriotic and revolutionary moods, traces the differences in the estimates of England and France. The present study complements the research on diplomatic history, and yet represents a separate research problem.