Memory as a Weapon of Control and Resistance: Militarization of History and Culture in Russia and the USSR

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This interdisciplinary panel explores various aspects of remembering as a part of the process of national identity construction. The first two papers pay attention to how the memory of Russia’s victory in World War II has been abused to bolster the authority of the Kremlin and later justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although alternative memories seem to almost drown in the multitude of lies manufactured by the Kremlin and parroted by Vladimir Putin’s allies, including Donald Trump, the official memory is never left uncontested. As Jonathan Brunstedt shows, the memory of the Soviet heroism during World War II as it was linked to the Afghan War contributed to the demise of the Soviet state. Finally, Harry Merritt explains how memories surrounding the Great Patriotic War were challenged in Latvia and thus they do not belong exclusively to Russia.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Jonathan Raspe, U of Zurich (Switzerland)

Papers

• War as Peace: A Psycho-Rhetorical Reading of the Militarization of Russian Education - Hanna Baranchuk, Curry College

• Memories of Victory in Times of Defeat: Soviet Patriotism and the Afghan War - Jonathan Brunstedt, Texas A&M U

• In the Shadow of Great Victory: Memory Cultures of the Red Army Latvian Rifle Corps - Harry Merritt, Rhode Island College

Discussant

• Dmytro Iarovyi, Kyiv School of Economics (Ukraine) / Vytautas Magnus U (Lithuania)