Mnemonic Soundscapes: Memory, Propaganda, and Resistance in Russo-Ukrainian Wartime Music Repertoires

• In Event: Music and Memory I: War and Media

Abstract

The Russian war against Ukraine has generated an unprecedented wave of musical production that not only documents the present but also engages with historical memory in distinct ways.
While Russia actively manipulates memory through propaganda songs designed to reinforce imperial narratives and justify aggression by assigning Ukraine roles shaped by its own revisionist interpretations of past conflicts, Ukraine strategically applies memory to emphasize the cyclic nature of its long-standing resistance to imperial oppression and its ongoing struggle for independence and cultural identity.
Ukrainian wartime songs, disseminated through digital platforms and public performances, draw on folk traditions, revolutionary melodies, and suppressed poetic texts to create sonic narratives of resilience. By adapting historical references and intertextual motifs, these songs connect Russia´s full-scale war on Ukraine to earlier struggles for self-determination, reinforcing a national identity rooted in defiance and perseverance.
Russia’s use of musical propaganda draws on imagery from the WW2, the Cold War, and Soviet nostalgia to present itself as a defender of peace, invoking the legacy of the Soviet army while opposing the perceived threat of a Western enemy.
Furthermore, by examining music initiatives in occupied regions, this study explores how participatory music-making fosters a collective mnemonic space, where grassroots, underground, and institutional musical efforts actively shape the process of memory-making. By analyzing the role of song in shaping public memory amid war, this study contributes to broader discussions on cultural memory, digital propaganda, and the politics of commemoration in contemporary conflict."

Author

• Olga Zaitseva-Herz, U of Alberta (Canada)