Abstract. The article analyzes the relation of the creative community to war. Russia's entry into World War I divided the intelligentsia to its adherents, who were ready to defend national interests by force of arms, and pacifists, who believed that there can be no winners in the fight of the warring parties - only losers, and every military victory is only an optical illusion. The author describes the «military area» of national culture. Particular attention is paid to avant-garde futuristic projects: from F.T.Marinetti, who considered the «war - the only hygiene of the world», to V.Mayakovsky, who said during the war: «Down with your love, down with your art, down with your order, down with your religion». The transitions from a culture of war to a policy of revolution, and from external to the internal war are traced in the article.