Russia in Global Affairs

In fact, memory politics itself is presented, first and foremost, with regard to modernization, its successes and/or failures, its one-sidedness or, on the contrary, its ability to transform society, synchronize it, and/or create “islands of modernity” in the middle of the space that remains in a different time.

The events of 2022 drew a line under Vladimir Putin’s attempts to preserve or assert by means of political and historical polemics a narrative about the European past that would suit Russia. Putin’s extensive speech made on February 21, 2022, which became a foreword to the special military operation in Ukraine, heralded a transition from disputes about history to practical action to change its course.

The collapse of the USSR shows that its current idealization can only be the result of an ideological vacuum. Undoubtedly, the idealization and mythologization of the Soviet past, especially of the late Soviet period, is, above all, a consequence of the post-Soviet trauma. But this trauma was inflicted not on Russia alone, but almost on the entire post-Soviet space.

Images of the enemy, historical and cultural ties, and symbols of external recognition—all this quite obviously contributes to the formation of a “positive image of oneself,” which is the main task of official historical policy.

History has become one of the public languages (discourses) in the political life of not only Russia, but also other European countries, and the use of this language, be it newspapers or academic journals, implies a certain meaning for those who participate in such discussions.