Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia

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Why arent ordinary Russians more outraged by Putins invasion of Ukraine Inside the Kremlins own historical propaganda narratives, Russias invasion of Ukraine makes complete sense. From its World War II cult to anti-Western conspiracy theories, the Kremlin has long used myth and memory to legitimize repression at home and imperialism abroad, its patriotic history resonating with and persuading large swathes of the Russian population.

In Memory Makers, Russia analyst Jade McGlynn takes us into the depths of Russian historical propaganda, revealing the chilling web of nationwide narratives and practices perforating everyday life, from after-school patriotic history clubs to tower block World War II murals. The use of history to manifest a particular Russian identity has had grotesque, even gruesome, consequences, but it belongs to a global political pattern where ones view of history is the ultimate marker of political loyalty, patriotism and national belonging. Memory Makers demonstrates how the extreme Russian experience is a stark warning to other nations tempted to stare too long at the reflection of their own imagined and heroic past.

Reviews

With authority and skill McGlynn gives what now ranks as the most reliable, up-to-date account of the use and misuse of history and memory in post-Soviet Russia. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *
McGlynn presents a powerful and disturbing case that the invasion had a convincing historical logic to it, for Vladimir Putin and for Russians more generally. . . . As if to prove McGlynns point, historically based justifications for Russian policy and alleged plots by the West form terrifyingly explicit parts of Russias most recent National Security Strategy. Her insightful and creative analysis suggests that we are in for a long conflict not just over the fate of Ukraine, but also over how differing memories of the past will continue to shape the future. * Washington Post *
McGlynns informative study of Russias memory wars shows just how easily performance, media narratives and cultural priming can slip into real violence. -- Bradley A. Gorski * Times Literary Supplement *
Memory Makers makes for fascinating reading [It] should be required reading for anyone wishing to engage in Russian politics, scholars, journalists, policy-makers alike. -- Usman Butt * Middle East Monitor *
Pithy and tightly argued. -- Christopher Silvester * The Critic *
Scholarly, revelatory and deeply unsettling Dr McGlynns brilliant, remorseless study inculpates almost the entire Russian nation. -- Allan Mallinson * Country Life *
History is back - armed with artillery and with a commitment to genocide. Jade McGlynns highly timely study shows how Putin weaponises the past to destroy the future * Peter Pomerantsev, Author of 'This is Not Propaganda' *
As Vladimir Putin presents his imperial adventure in Ukraine as a twenty-first century re-run of the Great Patriotic War against the Nazis, it has never been more crucial to understand the degree to which his regime seeks to legitimise itself by the rewriting of history, and Jade McGlynn provides a deeply-argued and nuanced analysis of this pernicious process. * Mark Galeotti, Author of 'A Short History of Russia' *
Jade McGlynn explains why Russians back the senseless war on Ukraine - because of the state's abuse of history as a tool to legitimate Russia's return to empire. * Keir Giles, Author of 'Russias War on Everybody' *
McGlynns fascinating study shows how Russian memory politics does much more than evoke memories of World War Two. Its particular propaganda form is to replay and conflate the past and the present. Events in Ukraine in 2014 are not just said to echo those of the 1940s, footage and commentary are literately spliced together; Russias intervention in Syria is depicted as the Cold War that wasnt, with Moscow victorious. * Andrew Wilson, University College London, author of 'Ukraine Crisis: What it Means for the West' *
McGlynn delivers a timely, well-researched account of how memory politics are playing out in Russia today, where history also functions as ideology. This book is excellent for those interested in discovering how Russians understand their recent history, and why they have come to view it as they do. * Todd H. Nelson, Cleveland State University, Author of 'Bringing Stalin Back In: Memory Politics and the Creation of a Useable Past in Putins Russia' *
[McGlynn] draws on close to a decade of research, including data analysis of television, print and social media, extensive interviews, andwhile it was still possiblefirsthand investigation within Russia itself... [She] has assembled the evidence for a conclusion that will disturb optimists hoping for a better Russia: The campaign would not have succeeded without a willing and complicit population, and too many ordinary Russians are entirely content to back their countrys most horrific actions. * Foreign Policy *
Jade McGlynns book is much-needed reading for scholars who want to dig deeper into the discourse underpinning Russias war of aggression against Ukraine and the political use of history in todays world more generally. Through thorough and painstaking analysis, the author engages with this narrative very seriously, dissecting its key tenets, examining where it comes from and, sadly, where it is leading Russia and its people. -- Leo Goretti, Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy * The International Spectator *
McGlynns book is academically impressive and full of fascinating detail and analysis. * Teresa Cherfas *
McGlynns book is academically impressive and full of fascinating detail and analysis. * Rights in Russia *

Author Bio

Jade McGlynn is a Researcher in the War Studies department at Kings College London. She is the author of Russias War (2023) and editor of two volumes on memory politics and history in Eastern Europe. She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, where she previously worked as a Lecturer in Russian. Jades research focusses on national identity, memory, media and popular culture in Russia and Ukraine. She is a frequent contributor to international media, including BBC, CNN, DW, Foreign Policy, The Times, The Telegraph and The Spectator.