Posted on 12/16/2017 1:36:30 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
Sometimes a states official view of the past can serve as the basis for an unwritten social contract between a government and its citizens. This is what is happening in Russia today. President Vladimir Putin has introduced the idea of what he terms a thousand-year history that Russians must take pride in, a history that incorporates many victorious pages from the countrys past, including Russias takeover of Crimea in 2014. This glorious history is offered to citizens in exchange for their political loyalty, and it is presented as being more important than economic progress.
Putins personal role has been critical to the formation of the states perceptions of history. He has determined, for example, how Russians should view past events like former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchevs transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and the Winter War with Finland...
Central to Putins vision of history is the Soviet Unions 1945 victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War. The current regime, which calls itself the sole heir of this victory, uses this achievement to make itself immune to criticism on other issues while justifying its current militarization efforts and excessive state interference in all aspects of life. Russian official history is limited to the biographies of state and military leaders and to a series of victories and demonstrations of the states enduring military might, with no room left for doubts or defeats.
The official version of memory can be glamorized with marketing know-how and modern technologies, like the Bosco-themed ice rink in Red Square, and used to promote the supposedly correct vision of history. This process is like an old black-and-white film that is colorized and aired again on national television.
Russias current governing regime sends out ambiguous signals about Stalin...
(Excerpt) Read more at carnegie.ru ...
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