New Publication: History in Service to the Fatherland - Politics of History and Memory in Russia since 2000

"History in Service to the Fatherland: Politics of History and Memory in Russia Since 2000" is the title of the monograph by Philipp Bürger, recently published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Bürger examines how, since 2000, the Russian state has been handling history and memory, focusing on three core areas: educational programs that boost patriotism and how they were staged; the shift in political framing and how contextual changes impacted history classes, particularly textbooks; as well as historical themes and messages within presidential speeches for legitimizing new political action. The study, published as the eleventh volume within the series "Intersections: Studies on Eastern and Southeastern Europe", builds upon existing research on political developments in the Soviet era and the 1990s, thus revealing continuities and genuine changes.

Philipp Bürger was a doctoral student at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) and is currently working as a lecturer in the Department of East European History at the University of Bonn. The series "Intersections: Studies on Eastern and Southeastern Europe" is edited by Prof. Dr. Martin Schulze Wessel and Prof. Dr. Ulf Brunnbauer, speakers of the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies at LMU.

Perestroika and the dissolution of the Soviet Union challenged and terminated well-established and comforting historical narrations. From which traditions should one now build upon now? Or, in contrast, which new history should emerge? The 1990s were marked by a variety of historical and political confrontations between reformers, conservatives, liberals and statisticians. The Russian state historical policy thus followed no clear conception. Only with the presidential election of Vladimir Putin did the historical policy acquire its focus and thus legitimate significance. Through Putin’s campaign, a patriotism should develop throughout the country that is both conscious and appreciative of its long history, often perceiving it as military and glorious.

Philipp Bürger: History in Service to the Fatherland: Politics of History and Memory in Russia since 2000, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018 (Intersections: Studies on Eastern and Southeastern Europe; Vol. 11)

1. Edition 2018
341 Pages
ISBN 978-3-525-37067-4
ISBN 978-3-647-37067-5 (E-Book)
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Cover: © 2018 – Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht