Published: 2019-12-28

The power of delusions — reports on Swedish “victories” in Russia and about the Battle of Poltava reaching Polish royal camp (August 1708—September 1709)

Jerzy Dygdała Logo ORCID

Abstract

Often enough in historical literature the following phenomena have been stressed: misinformation of public opinion, disseminating hearsay, and last but not least, stubborn dismissal of reports inconvenient to their recipients and deluding oneself that another news should bring a completely different state‑of‑affairs. Those characteristic phenomena are clearly visible when one looks into the process of receiving information regarding an unprecedented defeat suffered by the Swedish army of King Charles XII near Poltava in 1709. The supporters of Stanisław Leszczyński, who was allied with the Swedes, along with Swedish officers belonging to his entourage for the lengthy period denied the veracity of the reports and accepted any hearsay regarding Tsar Peter I’s alleged defeat at its face value.

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Dygdała, J. (2019). The power of delusions — reports on Swedish “victories” in Russia and about the Battle of Poltava reaching Polish royal camp (August 1708—September 1709). Wieki Stare I Nowe, 14(19), 119–142. https://doi.org/10.31261/WSN.2019.19.09

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Okładka Wieki Stare i Nowe

Vol. 14 No. 19 (2019)
Published: 2019-12-28


ISSN: 1899-1556
eISSN: 2353-9739

Publisher
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego | University of Silesia Press

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