N. M. Medvedeva. The Enemy of My Ally or My Enemy: Representation of Russia in the Works
of the British Cartoonist W. K. Heselden, 1904–1905 // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2026,
pp. 120–133.

DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2026_2_120

Abstract:

The article provides an analysis of the representation of the Russian Empire in the works of
the British cartoonist W. K. Haselden, which were published in the tabloid Daily Mirror between 1905 and 1906 The primary focus of the study is the transformation of Russia’s image against the backdrop of the Russo-Japanese War. The analysis of 97 cartoons reveals that, despite Britain’s formal neutrality, the British cartoonist’s visual rhetoric was predominantly critical and hostile towards Russia. Thematic analysis identified predominant themes, including images of threat, guilt, belligerence, and weakening. The internal and foreign policies of the Tsarist government, as well as the actions of the Russian fleet, were subject to criticism. The study concludes that W. K. Haselden’s cartoons functioned as a tool for shaping public opinion by simplifying complex international processes into a binary friend-or-foe framework.

Key words: William Kerridge Haselden, Daily Mirror, British cartoons, Image of Russia, Image of the enemy, Image of an ally, Russo-Japanese War, Anglo-Russian Relations.

Author:

Medvedeva, Nataliya Mikhailovna — PhD in History, Associate Professor of the Russian and World History Department, Pskov State University (Pskov, Russia).
E-mail: medvedeva-nata@yandex.ru
ORCID: 0000-0002-9348-1901

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