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In this episode, we deal with the subject of Russian politics of memory. We discuss the basic threads of the Russian narrative about collective memory and discuss how and for what purposes they are instrumentalized by the current rulers in the Kremlin. It also turns out that understanding the Russian authorities' approach to history provides explanations for the motives behind Russia's current actions at the international arena, including a possible escalation of the Russian-provoked 2014 war with Ukraine. We also look at how independent researchers and non-governmental organizations are trying to build a message based on facts or family stories that does not agree with the official line of the Kremlin.

Our guide on this important and complex topic is Maria Domańska, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, and co-author of a report on Russia's politics of memory. The report is available for download here:
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-report/2021-11-22/forward-past

Read also: “The forbidden theme of repression: History in the service of authoritarian politics”, by Maria Domańska, New Eastern Europe, 30 November 2021 https://neweasterneurope.eu/2021/11/30/the-forbidden-theme-of-repression-history-in-the-service-of-authoritarian-politics/