Fighting Russia's History Wars: Vladimir Putin and the Codification of World War II

Abstract

shows remarkable interest in history in general and World War II in particular. This article explores this historian-president's attempts to codify the memory of this war in an open attempt to transmit a useful past to the younger generation. It argues that top-down models of historical memory are of little explanatory value in the Russian situation. The president rides a wave of historical revisionism that he shapes at the same time. Putin's government successfully uses it to mobilize Russian society against critical minorities within and perceived enemies without. The far-reaching consequences of this politicization for the history of World War II are sketched in the final section of the article.

Monumental minnepolitikk: Russlands bruk av sovjetiske og russiske krigsminnesmerker i Nord-Norge 2014–2023

“…Russlands minnepolitiske aktivitet har gradvis blitt mer intensiv og offensiv etter dette vendepunktet, og i prosessen med å bekjempe forfalskning av historien framstilles fjerning av sovjetiske krigsminnesmerker som eksempler på nazistisk revansjisme. Anti-nazistisk retorikk har blitt «the key message in governmental policies and strategies dealing with the past» (Antonov, 2019, s. 410-421;Edele, 2017). Når kritikk mot det offisielle narrativet ikke lenger handler om historiefaglige uenigheter, men om sikkerhetspolitiske trusler, kan Kreml bruke det til å legitimere sterkere virkemidler og en offensiv utenrikspolitikk for å bekjempe det.…”

Russia’s and America’s 21st-century wars: Mirror images?

“…This obsession with the minimization of risk, coupled with an advanced military complex was first seen during the Second World War, in which allied armies (with the exception of the Red Army of the Soviet Union) took all necessary actions to improve the living standards of their troops on the ground. This doctrine is in stark contrast to that of both the Soviet Union and subsequently Putin's Russia, which has created a national identity which has romanticized both war and sacrifice (Edele, 2017). Joseph Stalin was forced to galvanize public resistance and support for his regime's defense, in the wake of the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, by describing the Soviet Union as a "motherland".…”

“…This includes disregarding the crimes committed by the Red Army during the Second World War and the historical fight by the Ukraine nation to be free of Russian control or interference. Edele (2017) argues that the passing of the law represents a desire by Putin to ride a wave of historical revisionism in order to mobilize Russian society against Lily Hamourtziadou, Jonathan Jackson, and Ron Winch minorities and assert values favorable to his geopolitical aspirations. The creation of such perceptions has been enforced by the apparatus of the state, with Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinskii being central to creating a "positive mythology", including the Soviet War Myth of seeing war and sacrifice as essential elements of state power.…”

“…It should not be seen as a coincidence that the Memory Law was signed just before the Victory Parade in May 2014 and only months after the annexation of the Crimea. As Edele (2017) suggests, the Russian state has looked to shape and weaponize history, to create a culture in which Russia would be acceptant of an aggressive foreign policy and the cost in life brought by a conventional conflict, which helps to explain the increased endorsement of the Ukraine invasion of 2022. Huband (2003) shows that along with Russia, Western countries have also allowed a greater re-examination of their histories, with many seeing notions of aggressive foreign policy as tools of empire or extreme nationalism.…”

“…Sacrifice and overwhelming force have become increasingly associated with previous rather than current standards of behaviors, with self-sacrifice being discouraged. Such rejection has led to a decline in public support for military engagement which reflects in stark contrast to attitudes formed within contemporary Russian society (Edele, 2017). Kilcullen (2016) suggests that Western military engagements in the Middle East and Central Asia have come at a huge cost to both military forces and civilian populations, leading nations to see these wars as illegal and unjust.…”