Echoes of the Cold War in Contemporary Russian War Memory

• In Event: Memory of WWII in the U.S.-Russia Cold War Discourse: Ideology vs History

Abstract

Contemporary war memory in Putin’s Russia contains echoes of both Russian Imperial and Soviet war memory with some unique 21st century aspects. Given the predominantly adversarial relations of Russia with Western Europe and the United States since 2014, caused by the Russian invasions of Ukraine, it is not surprising that current memories of Soviet-era wars in textbooks and museums replicate particular Cold War tropes. Both the memory of the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet Afghan War incorporate anti-US and anti-NATO tropes that first appeared in Soviet anti-Western propaganda. This paper explores these tropes and their place in the ecosystem of Putin-era propaganda.

Author

• Karen Petrone, U of Kentucky