Love the Galician Way: Intimate Aspects in the History of Everyday Life in Galicia During the First World War

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Abstract

The article examines some aspects of sexual life of Russian soldiers and officers in occupied Galicia during WWI. There is no special research devoted to this issue. The research is based on wide circle of memoirs, diaries and correspondence of both military men and Galician witnesses of the occupation. It is shown that, in contrast with many memoirists and historians’ statements, sexual contacts between local women and military men, in many cases, were voluntary. Prostitution and, therefore, venereal diseases had spread in cities far from the front line. The most significant scale of the last ones was observed in L’viv as the biggest city of Galicia. The specific feature of L’viv, in comparison with cities in Russian rear, was that many prostitutes imitated respectable women, misleading Russian military men by this way.

About the authors

D. S. Parfirev

Institute of Slavic Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: parfiryeff@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4042-6324
Moscow

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