Why did the rulers issue manifestos at the beginning of the war?

A manifesto is an appeal (or appeal) of the rulers to their people.

At the beginning of the war, the rulers (or representatives of the authorities), with the help of manifestos, tried to explain to the people the reasons for the war, to prove its justice (defending their land or returning the ancestral territories). Finally, after the publication of the manifesto, the rulers could rightly count on a rise in the patriotic feelings of their people.

For example, at the beginning of the First World War, Emperor Nicholas II issued the Highest Manifesto on Russia’s entry into the war.