Confronting the Stalinist Past: The Politics of Memory in Russia

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgements This article draws on interviews and research conducted in Russia from 2008–2010. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the U.S. Army or the U.S. government. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Institute for National Security Studies. Notes 1. Alexey Miller, Georgiy Kasianov, Robert Traba et al., “The Politics of History,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Pro et Contra 13, no. 3–4 (May-August 2009), http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/?fa=24797&lang=en#politics. 2. Simon Shuster, “Rehabilitating Joseph Stalin,” Time, December 22, 2009, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1949500,00.html. 3. According to a recent poll, 35 percent of respondents born before Stalin's death in 1952 said that family members had been victims of Stalinist repressions. Alexei Levinson, “Uses and Abuses of Stalin's Image,” Open Democracy Russia, http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/alexei-levinson/uses-and-abuses-of-stalin%E2%80%99s-image. 4. For this general point, see Chris Lorenz, “Towards a Theoretical Framework for Comparing Historiographies: Some Preliminary Considerations,” in Theorizing Historical Consciousness, ed. Peter Seixas (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004), p. 34. 5. Dmitri Trenin, “Russia's Spheres of Interest, not Influence,” The Washington Quarterly 32, no. 4 (October 2009): pp. 3–22, http://twq.com/09october/docs/09oct_Trenin.pdf. 6. A.V. Filippov, Noveishaya istoriya Rossii. Kniga dlya uchitelya (Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2007). 7. A.A. Danilov, A.I. Utkin, A.V. Filippov, eds., Istoriya Rossii. 1945–2008 (Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2008). 8. A.A. Danilov and A.V. Filippov, eds., Istoriya Rossii. 1900–1945 (Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2009); and A.A. Danilov and A.V. Filippov, eds., Istoriia Rossii. 1900–1945. Kniga dlya uchitelya (Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2008). 9. Filippov, Noveishaya istoriya Rossii, pp. 91–92. 10. Sophia Kishkovsky, “Russian Archbishop Hilarion Calls Stalin ‘a Monster’,” Presbyterian Outlook, August 4, 2009, http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/2009/08/07/russian-archbishop-hilarion-calls-stalin-a-monster/. 11. Dmitry Medvedev, “Speech at meeting with Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives in international organisations,” July 12, 2010, http://www.eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/610. 12. “Blame for massacre of Poles cannot be put on Russians – Putin,” RT.com, April 7, 2010, http://rt.com/Politics/2010-04-07/katyn-poloes-massacre.html. 13. “Dmitry Medvedev's Article, Go Russia!” September 10, 2009, http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/298. 14. ITAR-TASS, December 3, 2009. 15. Dmitry Medvedev, “Memory of National Tragedies is as Sacred as the Memory of Victories,” October 30, 2009, http://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2009/10/30/1218_type207221_222423.shtml. 16. For the order, dated September 9, 2009, of the Ministry of Education and Science mandating the compulsory assignment of Gulag Archipelago, see http://mon.gov.ru/press/reliz/5691/. 17. Dmitry Medvedev, “Interview with Der Spiegel,” November 7, 2009, http://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2009/11/07/1230_type82916_222598.shtml. 18. Dmitry Solovyov, “Gorbachev Warns Russians Against Rise of Stalinism,” Reuters, September 26, 2007, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL268062220070926. 19. Interview with a member of the group, March 14, 2010. 20. Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber, “Soviet Nostalgia: An Impediment to Democratization,” The Washington Quarterly 29, no. 1 (Winter 2005–06): pp. 83–96, http://twq.com/06winter/docs/06winter_mendelson.pdf. 21. Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber, “Us and Them: Anti-American Views of the Putin Generation,” The Washington Quarterly 31, no. 2 (Spring 2008): pp. 131–150, at pp. 131–132, http://twq.com/08spring/docs/08spring_mendelson.pdf. 22. VCIOM, “Russians About Perestroika: Are They Becoming Less Negative About It?” March 9, 2010, http://wciom.com/news/press-releases/press-release/single/13379.html. 23. VCIOM, “Stalin: Was He a Tyrant or a Hero?” March 5, 2008, http://wciom.com/archives/thematic-archive/info-material/single/9770.html?no_cache=1&cHash=5028e83c70. 24. VCIOM, “Do We Need Another Stalin?” December 18, 2009, http://wciom.com/news/press-releases/press-release/single/12922.html. 25. ITAR-TASS, December 21, 2009. 26. Levinson, “Uses and Abuses of Stalin's Image.” 27. Anna Malpas, “Stalin casts long shadow ahead of Russian parade,” AFP, May 8, 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jsYHT4ILSVWS2zlCTQaPa-v6wvqQ. 28. Levinson, “Uses and Abuses of Stalin's Image.” 29. Medvedev, “Memory of National Tragedies is as Sacred as the Memory of Victories.” 30. VCIOM, “Do We Need Another Stalin?” 31. VCIOM, “Stalin: Was He a Tyrant or a Hero?” 32. Levada Center, September 4, 2009, http://www.levada.ru/press/2009090404.html. 33. Levada Center, December 21, 2009, http://www.levada.ru./press/2009122101.html. 34. “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin,” December 16, 2010, http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/russia-putin-q-a-transcript-dec-496.cfm. 35. VCIOM, “World War II,” April 27, 2010, http://wciom.com/news/press-releases/press-release/single/13539.html. 36. “Patriotism is remedy to stop race-hate violence says Putin,” RIA Novosti, December 27, 2010, http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101227/161953303.html. 37. Sergei Karaganov, “Russkaya Katyn,” Rossiiskaya gazeta, July 22, 2010, http://www.rg.ru/2010/07/22/istoriya.html. 38. For further discussion, see Thomas Sherlock, Historical Narratives in the Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia (New York: Palgrave, 2007). 39. For perceptive analysis of this issue, see Miller, Kasianov, Traba et al., “The Politics of History.” Additional informationNotes on contributorsThomas SherlockThomas Sherlock is Professor of Political Science at the United States Military Academy at West Point and the author of Historical Narratives in the Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)