Each year, on the anniversary of the historic Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, which marked the end of Nazi operations in the Soviet Union, the city of Volgograd temporarily “renames” itself, taking on its once-glorious toponym “Stalingrad”. from the time when the Soviet Union was still strong.

However, during this year’s celebrations, the authorities were not content with just this temporary “change” of the name. Instead, they proceeded to unveil the bust of Joseph Stalin while soldiers dressed in secret police uniforms paraded.

Publication Politico comments on these steps as an attempt by the Russian side to emphasize “parallelism» between her Russia from “then“and from”Today“, in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which these days is “closing” a year.

An exemplary phrase from the President’s speech Putin in Volgograd on February 2: “Unbelievable, but true: we are again threatened by the German Leopards,” the Russian president said, emphatically adding that “we must continue to repel the aggression of the West.”

The Politico article reveals a number of inaccuracies in this statement by the Russian president.

First, Russia is not at war with the West, but Ukraine – a country invaded by Russia itself. Secondly, the German Leopards date back to the 1960s, not earlier, and there is no plan to invade Russian territory.

“The language of history has replaced the language of politics”

Ivan Kurila, a historian at the European University at St. Petersburg, gives his own explanation: “The language of history has replaced the language of politics,” he says, explaining that this language “is used so that the Russian people can simply understand what is happening.” .

In general, one can observe Putin’s apparent penchant for more frequent references and calls to World War II – known to Russians as the “Great Patriotic War”, a war in which more than 20 million citizens of the USSR died.

So it is no coincidence that it is turned to in the battle against Hitler and Nazism, because it is this historical memory that directly affects not only the collective identity, but also the collective trauma of Russians. In a sense, Putin is tryingunderstand“Russia in”right side of history“.

Kurila notes that with this narrative, Putin is trying to summarize what is good and what is evil, who is an ally and friend, and who is an enemy.

“Demilitarization” and “Denazification”

Going back a year, in the speech in which Putin announced the attack on Ukraine, we find exactly the same rhetoric. On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russian citizens heard the Russian President announce the “start of a special military operation” aimed, in Putin’s words, at the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine.

Tamara Eidelman, an expert on Russian propaganda, “deciphers” Putin’s narrative, saying that Russia’s official “line” was as follows:there are fascists in Ukraine and we want to help the citizens there. Therefore, we are fighting for a higher and greater goal.”

However, Russian citizens are similar embarrassed.

When the Russian site 7×7 asked a Russian what denazization means, he answered the following: “Respect for people of different nationalities, respect for people who speak a different language, equality before the law and freedom of the press.”

And to the same question, another citizen gave a completely different answer: “Destroy everyone who does not lead a “normal”, peaceful life.”

At least the term “special military operation” initially had a clearer meaning. This phrase is directly associated with a fast, professional and targeted attack.

A week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a number of Russian laws were amended. Now those who were considered to be slanderers of the Russian armed forces and those who spread fake news have been punished. Among what Moscow saw as fake news was the use of the word “war” to describe the invasion of Ukraine.

Historical parallels

Of course, over time, the “special operation” turned into a protracted conflict, Putin was gradually forced to change his main narrative.

And if the images of a bombed-out maternity hospital in Mariupol and photographs of a pile of people in Bukh were rejected by the Kremlin as “fake news” or propaganda, then by spring Russia had abandoned the terms “demilitarization” and “demilitarization”. Nazification” from the public sphere.

Russia’s “line” has changed after reports that the US is developing biological weapons in Ukraine. In October, Putin also said that one of the main goals of the war was to provide the population of Crimea with a stable water supply.

Nevertheless, Putin’s references to historical references have not ceased to be his main choice.

World War II continues to be the main source of references to the Russian president, but Putin’s historical parallels are not limited to this historical period. In June, Putin mentioned the campaign of Peter the Great, and at an event in October, he did not fail to mention Catherine the Great.

Kurila explains Putin’s strategy: “From time to time another story comes to the fore, as if they are trying to portray the reaction and impact of each report.”

Interpreting war with historical “symbols”

The search for historical parallels concerns not only the leadership of Russia, but also the people of the country. Even supporters of the war are trying to give the war a historical character. “There was an assassination attempt in the spring and early summer”sovietization“wars where citizens raise red flags trying to understand reality through that lens.”

According to Politico, in the city of Shizran, students “reconstructed” the Battle of Kursk during the Great Patriotic War. More recently, law students in St. Petersburg took part in a simulation of Nuremberg, and the local authorities praised the work as “timely”.

From the very beginning of the Russian invasion, the Kremlin tried to present the fighting as a struggle against Western interests, which, through Ukraine, “are trying to undermine Russia.”

Denis Volkov, head of the independent political research center Levada, says that “long before February 2022, Russians were saying they were being pushed into war with the West.”

These sentiments, Volkov explains, crystallized as early as the 1990s and were fueled by Russian dissatisfaction with Russia’s limited post-Cold War position. “What we are seeing today is the culmination of this sense of dissatisfaction and unfulfilled visions, especially among citizens over 50 years of age.“.

One year later

As the war year draws to a close, it seems necessary to renew the dominant narrative once more. The idea of ​​”war” is no longer such a taboo as it was a year ago. After all, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin himself used the term by accident in December.

Veteran propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said in a broadcast in January that “we are now moving away from a special operation and heading towards a ‘holy war.’

The Russians expect the war to continue for at least another six months, and Volkov believes that most of society “passively supports military action as long as it does not directly affect them.”

Meanwhile, talk about military supplies to Ukraine from Western countries is used by the Russian side to strengthen the narrative that Russia is at odds with the West is no longer ideologically, but literally.

Kurila argues that in the year after the start of the war, it was not the words and concepts that changed, but the way they are signaled in real life: “What began as a historical allegory is now fueled by real human blood.”

On the country’s newsstands, Russian citizens can find magazines such as “Istorik”, full of details and discussions about “how the Western allies in World War II actually ‘sympathized’ with the Nazis.” According to the Politico report, this is another reworked narrative.

Edelman, an expert on Russian propaganda, notes of this communication strategy that during the Cold War, one could see cartoons of Western leaders such as President Eisenhower dressed in fascist clothing and NATO hats.

As the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine approaches, Putin is expected to step up the rhetoric of “warming up” issues taken from history, such as his own confrontation with the West, as well as the “heroism” of the Russian people.

Regardless, the Politico article estimates that it is not excluded that these appeals of the President of Russia will be in moderation this time.

After all, to return to Volgograd, the proposal to rename the city to Stalingrad was not successful, and public opinion polls show that the vast majority are against such a prospect.

The conclusion of the article gives the impression that the Russian people are one step behind their leadership in how they perceive and “accept” history.

Source: Politico