Forward, Into the Past! Russia’s Politics of Memory in the Service of ‘eternal’ Authoritarianism
Forward, Into the Past! Russia’s Politics of Memory in the Service of ‘eternal’ Authoritarianism

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża, Maria Domańska
Subject(s): Military history, Political history, Government/Political systems, Political behavior, Politics and religion, History of Communism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Geopolitics, Politics of History/Memory
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Russia; politics of memory; authoritarian regime; Vladimir Putin; Putinism; geopolitics; The Russian Orthodox Church;
Summary/Abstract: The specific nature of the Russia’s politics of memory stems from two types of determinants. These are systemic factors originating from a particular socio‑cultural substrate, formed mainly in the course of the turbulent 20th century history, as well as the present‑day interests of the authoritarian regime. The latter results in an extreme politicisation of the issues relating to the past and leads to alternative viewpoints being excluded from the debate. The narrative of memory is meant to legitimise the authoritarian system of government as being optimal for Russia, and thus to perpetuate the model of state‑society relationship that serves the Kremlin’s interests.

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