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Abstract:

Nadezhda Lukhmanova (1841–1907) made a significant contribution to the documentary comprehension of the Russo-Japanese War. Her dual professional status — as a nurse and war journalist — allowed her to create a multifaceted chronicle of events, seamlessly blending factuality with artistic expressiveness. This article analyzes Lukhmanova’s war correspondence as a unique example of a woman’s perspective in Russian documentary prose of the early 20th century. The focus is on the specifics of the narrative: compassion as a guiding principle, an emphasis on everyday heroism and the details of everyday life, the special role of musical imagery in exploring the theme of collective trauma. Music in Lukhmanova’s texts serves a dual function: on the one hand, it is a symbol of unity and the preservation of cultural identity, while on the other, it becomes a sign of disintegration and the clash of worlds. This contrast becomes particularly vivid in an episode where musical instruments are transformed into instruments of violence, and harmonious melodies give way to dissonant “symphonies of chaos”. Thus, the writer’s war correspondence represents not just a chronicle of events, but an artistic documentary diagnosis of a society faced with the trauma of defeat.

Keywords: N. Lukhmanova, war correspondences, documentary literature, collective trauma, musical imagery, Russo-Japanese War.