Russia in Global Affairs

Memory wars around the interpretation of the Second World War/Great Patriotic War continue to rage between Central and Eastern European countries and Russia, with European institutions being hostage to these conflictual narratives.

The willingness to see behind everything a conspiracy of dark forces and the belief that everything happens for a reason, well-known to us from our own history, have now spectacularly become commonplace. So, since the topic triggered such a powerful response, we decided to take it further by asking members of the academic community in different countries how they assess the current state of affairs in “memory politics.” They came up with a very broad range of opinions, which we gladly share with our readers.

The online session “International Relations and Memory of WWII Today”, organized by the European University in Saint Petersburg and the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, was held on November 23. The participants in the panel discussion, moderated by Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of “Russia in Global Affairs”, included Alexei Miller, Tony Brenton, Sergei Kislyak, Ulrich Brandenburg, and Philip David Zelikow.

On November 23 at 18:00 a.m. MSK (GMT+3) will be an online session, titled: “International relation and memory of WWII today.” featuring Fyodor Lukyanov, Alexei Miller and prominent diplomats. The session will be within the framework of the International Conference “Memory of the Second World War – Glorification, Condemnation, Accusation, Justification, Explanation”, organized by EU SPb and Foreign and Defence Policy Council.

There’s a common joke that Russia is a country with an unpredictable past because it rewrites history to fit the present. Paradoxically, this joke is now becoming relevant for much of the world as well. What does the battle for history mean for the present and future? And where will memory wars lead us?