Official Historical Narrative Research Articles

Traumy i chwały: polityka, narracje i pamięć pod rządami Partii Sprawiedliwości i Rozwoju w Turcji

This paper examines the use of memory as a political tool by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, emphasising the impact of the official historical narrative on commemoration of selected historical traumas and glories, in addition to its influence on collective identity. Over the last two decades, Turkey has undergone a cultural transformation under the rule of the AKP. This transformation has taken place through reevaluation of the Islamic-Ottoman past while distancing itself from Kemalist secularism. Adhering to the principles of Islam, the AKP has articulated its political agenda through a cultural initiative inspired by Turgut Özal’s Neo-Ottomanism. To this end, a series of narratives was developed under a cultural programme based on nostalgia for the Ottoman while scrutinising different aspects of the country’s secular paradigm. The programme was carried out through the commemoration of identity, including the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453 as well as the construction of ‘sites of memory’, such as museums, theme parks or mosques. The establishment of ‘sites of memory’ around these selected narratives allows for an in-depth exploration of how political ideology intersects with memory, contributing to the ongoing transformation of Turkey’s cultural and political landscape.

Memorial agency, heritage dissonance, and the politics of memory in the preservation of Rio de Janeiro’s Valongo slave wharf

The article aims to understand the tensions inherent to the commemoration of a difficult and conflicted past and the conservation of dissonant heritage. It explores the politics of memory and identity, and the power struggles that underscore the heritagisation process through a study of the transformation of Rio de Janeiro’s port in preparation to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. The paper uses the notion of heritage dissonance to shed light upon contemporary struggles over the interpretation of the port’s contested history and explores the debates that have surrounded the 'discovery' of archeological remains, which exposed a controversial past marked by collective amnesia. The paper identifies various actions, instruments, and strategies used by various actors to either support or undermine the project, from inertia and obstructionism to memorialisation and ritual agency. The analysis of these findings reveals the transformative potential of heritage, as an instrument of empowerment in the ideological battle over collective memory, and a tool of resistance against historical denial. It discusses the way debates over heritage have stimulated public debate, inflected the official historical narrative, and allowed the legacies of slavery to infiltrate collective consciousness. The paper concludes with a discussion of how heritage dissonance can engender actions leading to conflict mediation, thereby promoting reconciliation and dialogue, and, ultimately, societal change.

Building Pious Generations in Turkey: The Islamization of Childhood in the Children's Magazine of the Directorate of Religious Affairs

AbstractThe present study examines the recent ideological and cultural apparatuses aimed at the Islamization of children in Turkey through the example of the Children's Magazine, published periodically by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (DRA). Since 2002, under the Islamist government in Turkey, the Directorate of Religious Affairs has progressively evolved into an ideological apparatus that operates in alignment with the government's social objectives. The DRA, supported by significant state funding, has become an institution that holds discussions on matters of family, children, youth, and gender. Seeking to align the government's ideological goals with the Islamization of society, the Directorate of Religious Affairs has placed special emphasis on cultural policies, media, and publishing. The Children's Magazine is one of the monthly publications produced by the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which has evolved into a significant cultural enterprise. The magazine conveys a religious pedagogy rooted in Sunni Hanafi Islam and a nationalist‐conservative family ideology. It not only reinforces the prevailing ideology on religious matters but also promotes the political strategies of the government and the newly established official historical narrative.

Historical Memories in Transcarpathia: Oral Historical Reflections on the Second World War

Transcarpathia is a border and mostly mountainous region with a rather complex ethnographic and religious mosaic. It borders 4 countries (Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia), and geographically is the westernmost part of Ukraine. These factors contributed to the shape of a local multicultural population with fluid identities and very specific worldviews. The deepening of cultural ruptures is increased by regional historical memory, which shows the past in a way that is not described in the official historical grand narrative. This situation is also influenced by ethnic diversity and the presence of ethnic minorities, in particular local Hungarians and Germans, whose reflections on World War II and Sovietization differ both from the official grand narrative and from the memories of local Ukrainians. This study exhibits these differences and attempts to generalize and explain them. The ethnographic data was collected during the author’s fieldwork. Among the respondents, there are representatives of various Transcarpathian ethnic groups, direct witnesses of the XX century’s most significant events. Memories of these events are analysed through their impact on the everyday life of ordinary people.

Historical consciousness and the consolidation of the opposition: uses of the history of revolution and dissent in Russian protest art, 2008–2012

ABSTRACT The protests against election fraud in Russia in winter 2011–2012 were the first in the post-Soviet period that were attended by a united opposition, and attracted hundreds of thousands of previously apolitical citizens. This article seeks to explain mass participation in the protests by focusing on uses of the history of revolution and dissent in Russian protest art. The article investigates whether a common historical consciousness, which could have made it possible to unify previously fragmented opposition and mobilize previously apolitical citizens, was manifested in protest artworks created by artists with differing political ideologies. The conclusion is that the official historical narrative promoted by the state – of a spiritual unity between a strong state and the people – was challenged and undermined by protest artists, who have characterized Russian history as a continuous struggle between an oppressive state and civil society. This finding indicates that a common historical consciousness was manifested in protest artworks.

„Wojny pamięci” w literaturze rosyjskiej. Twórczość Siergieja Lebiediewa

“MEMORY WARS” IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE: SERGEI LEBEDEV’S WORKS
 Sergei Lebedev’s tetralogy – Oblivion (2010), The Year of the Comet (2014), People of August (2015), and The Goose Fritz (2018) – is considered a multigenerational novel. This genre of literature can be seen as a medium for collective memory, offering an avenue for reinterpreting the experiences of past generations as an alternative to official historical narratives (referred to as “first memory”). The primary focus of this article centers on Lebedev’s oeuvre in the context of the ongoing “memory wars” within Russian culture. Lebedev’s works are characterized by an intensified historical consciousness that revolves around the key events of the 20th century. However, the objective is not an inquiry into historical truth sensu stricto, but rather an exploration of post-trauma, which is Russians’ unwanted and rejected heritage. Consequently, the past becomes a catalyst for contemplating the current condition of Russian society. Lebedev’s work encourages deeper reflection on the causes of the “memory wars” and the consequences of divisions between individual and collective memory.

Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony

Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony

Russian Front Organizations and Western Academia

This article examines the activities of two Russian front organizations targeting Western academia and broader international audiences. These activities are part of contemporary Russian information warfare and are fundamentally entrenched in Soviet intelligence traditions, aiming to reinforce Russian official historical narratives and propaganda. The objectives of these organizations include undermining Western scholars’ critical perspectives and shaping public opinion favorable to the Russian Federation’s foreign policy and its methods of governing. Backed by the Russian secret services and the presidential administration, these organizations engage in using and coopting academics who help them disseminate Russian historical myths and propaganda that demonize the West in general and Ukraine in particular. An analysis of selected cases of Russian influence on Western academia and public opinion present a sample of the wide range of Russian intelligence practices symptomatic of the Russian anti-Western information campaign.

SACRALIZATION OF THE OFFICIAL NARRATIVE OF HISTORICAL MEMORY IN RUSSIA IN EARLY ХХІCENTURY (ACCORDING TO THE CONCEPT OF A. AND J. ASSMAN)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the historical policy of the Russian Federation from the early 2000s to the present, in particular the sacralization of key issues of history based on the concept of Aleida and Jan Assmann. Research methodology. The study is based on the concept of A. and J. Assmann. Its application provides new opportunities for the researches of Russia's historical memory in a certain period, including the official narrative. In the course of the research, general scientific and specific historical methods, scientific criticism of sources, textual and hermeneutical analysis were used. Scientific novelty. The study analyzes the main changes in Russian legislation in 2014–2021 on historical memory, including a system of prohibitions, as well as other tools for sacralization of the official historical narrative. The possibility of applying A. Assman’s recommendations on the scientific and socio-political levels of discourse in the field of historical policy is determined. Conclusions. Russia's historical policy since the early 2000s has gone from preserving certain mechanisms for conducting independent historical research to gradually eliminating of these mechanisms and imposing the concept of the Russian Federation as the successor to the USSR and the Russian Empire. This was due to systemic restrictions and harassment on historical research, as well as in the field of education. As a result, there was an instrumentalization of history. Such a system is the foundation for the distortion and replacement of historical concepts and ideas. Historical memory in Russia is exclusively official in key issues for the Russian authorities. The non-admission of independent research to the formation of historical memory leads to a lack of self-criticism and legitimation of the crimes of the current Russian government.

Arts in Dark Times

This article explores Palestinians’ representations in visual art of the existential crisis they faced following the destruction of Palestinian society during the 1948 War, known as the Nakba. The article explores how this colossal event has been conveyed artistically, and discusses artworks that revolve around Palestinians’ subsequent states of being, which are represented by two main motifs, the ‘good Arab’ and the cactus tree. In particular, it assesses how these motifs were used to convey varied, and even opposite, states of being and consciousness, as well as survival strategies, that go beyond commonplace views and perceptions about Palestinians in Israel after 1948. Moreover, this article discusses how the allegorical language of these artworks augments their meanings and might open a window into the world of the Palestinians, who lack archives, official historical narratives, and institutions of remembrance.

Tiempo Al Tiempo

Abstract This article explores the role of critical engagement with official and alternative historical narratives for dissident/diverse activists in Chile. Intervening in the debate surrounding queer temporality, which has tended to focus on the idea of futurity, the article brings Elizabeth Freeman's concept of “temporal drag” into conversation with Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui's theorization of ch'ixi subjectivity to argue that temporal drag on ch'ixi bodies renders visible the impact of colonial norms surrounding race and sexuality in the creation of the modern Chilean nation-state. Through four case studies, gathered via archival research and ethnographic participant observation, the author makes the case that by engaging with and questioning, rather than running from, official historical narratives, dissident/diverse activists in Chile carry out activism that brings to light both the country's historical and continuing oppression of sexual and racial minorities and the violent histories of colonialism and dictatorship that have made this oppression possible.

Social Memory in the Narratives of Siberians: the Truthfulness of History and the Truth of Memory

Historical memory is a part of social memory, it is politicized and does not allow alternatives in interpretations. Social memory is valueless, it is transmitted from older generations to descendants in the form of images and interpretations of events. If the state policy corresponds to the sociocodes of the community culture, then the images of social memory do not contradict the interpretations and content of historical documents. Historical events of a traumatic nature, as a rule, differentiate interpretations of past events, reflected by contradictions between official and unofficial narratives.The object of the study is social memory imprinted in unofficial narratives of Siberians that contradict official historical narratives. The subject of the study is the contradictions caused by different interpretations of historical events between subjects of official history and carriers of social memory. The novelty lies in the application of a hybrid methodological complex, with the help of which the analysis of contradictions in official and unofficial narratives of Siberians in different historical periods and in different socio-political situations (resettlement, dispossession, war years) was carried out. The peculiarities of the interpretation of empirical material are related to the specifics of understanding the contradictions between the truth of history and the truth of historical memory. At the junction of the types of truth, one can see the uniqueness of historical reality. The authors have revealed that social memory determines the differentiation of interpretations of historical events, includes a program of social inheritance of images of the past. The meanings of "historical truth" and the truth of memory are ambiguously intertwined in the collective consciousness of Siberians.

Entanglements of art and memory activism in Hungary’s illiberal democracy

This paper explores how art contributes to the articulation of memories that counter the official historical narrative of Hungary’s self-proclaimed political and ideological system, illiberal democracy. Amid deepening polarization between Europe’s post-colonialist and post-socialist countries, the Hungarian government promotes a Christian conservative national identity against the “liberal” values of Western Europe. Systematic appropriation of historical traumas is at the core of such efforts, which largely manifests in removing, erecting and reinstating memorials, as well as in the re-signification of trauma sites. Insufficient civic involvement in rewriting histories generates new ways of resistance, which I demonstrate through the case study of a protest-performance organized by the Living Memorial activist group as a response to the government’s decision to displace the memorial of Imre Nagy in 2018. I seek to understand the dynamics between top-down memory politics, civil resistance and art within the conceptual apparatus of the “memory activism nexus” (Rigney 2018, 2020) and “multidirectional memories” (Rothberg 2009). I argue that artistic memory activism has limited potential to transform the dynamics of memory in a context where a national conservative political force has gradually taken control over historical narratives, triggering inevitably polarizing responses in the society. Although profoundly embedded in local histories, the case-study may offer new ways of negotiating traumatic heritages through the entanglement of art and memory activism.

Stalin and The Silences of The Official History of His Role in The Prerevolutionary Bolshevik Underground

At the height of his cult of personality in 1938, Stalin deleted almost all references to his prerevolutionary career within the Bolshevik underground from the canonical Short Course on party history. Recognizing the challenge that this editing poses to traditional understandings of the personality cult, this article analyzes Stalin’s excisions from this all-important text and then looks to recent research by Ronald Grigor Suny, Stephen Kotkin, Erik van Ree, Ol’ga Edel’man and others in order to explain the peculiar nature of this official historical narrative.

Revisiting the journey of a centrist intellectual from a de-Cold War perspective: Hu Qiuyuan’s retrospect and evaluation of the Debate on Chinese Social History

ABSTRACT This paper points out, as the conditions of knowledge in the post-Cold War era evolve, the “de-Cold Warization” of the understanding of China has become an intellectual topic of regional significance, so as the concern, brought by such historical juncture, of the Debate on Chinese Social History and within which the reflection and commentary of (the work of) Hu Qiuyuan, who is viewed as an intellectual in the middle of the political spectrum. Hu Qiuyuan’s intellectual reflection was different from the official historical narrative of the Chinese Communist Party that succeeded it, as the 1930s was actually a time of great intellectual altercation. Back then, the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, the Trotskyist, and the others co-existed and interacted with each other, even pushing the CCP to alter its course of the revolutions. Specifically, because the centrists were not contained by the logic of exclusivity of other political positions, they were able to criticize the theoretical practice of other forms of dogmatism and represented the whole-of-society and the subjectivity of national interests. Moreover, Hu Qiuyuan, following the tradition of the centrists in the Debate of Social History, unfolded a theory of anti-imperialist, Third Worldist and “transcendent advancedism” (chaoyue qianjinlun). As such, Hu Qiuyuan’s intellectual history might implicate the direction for the “de-Cold War” of the understanding of China and have a positive meaning in the inter-referential system of knowledge in East Asia.

Церковный раскол в Республике Северная Македония: внешнеполитическое измерение

The unexpected reconciliation of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the Macedonian ‘schismatics’, which took place in May 2022, determines the relevance of the retrospective analysis given in the article of this church conflict that has lasted more than half a century in the Republic of North Macedonia. Using the historical-genetic method, the underlying reason is revealed and the dynamics of the conflict that unfolded between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid – is traced. With the use of the realistic approach to international relations and the hypothesis of maintaining a close connection between the church and state in the Balkans, the author identifies the key parties to the conflict, which, in addition to Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia, include Bulgaria, Greece, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and describes the evolution of the strategies chosen by these parties to conduct. At the same time, the focus of the study is not the theological dimension of the subject in question, but its foreign policy implications. The history of the church schism is considered in the broader context of the political elites of the Republic of North Macedonia finding the solution to the task of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, the possibilities of using the church factor in the reaching of geostrategic goals are shown. It is stated that the reasons that pushed the hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to reach agreements with the Macedonian ‘schismatics’ lie in the dimension of foreign policy, and the discussion of the status of the Ohrid Archdiocese was one of the elements of the struggle for influence in the Balkans, both regional and non-regional players. By its decision to support the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid, the Serbian Orthodox Church has demonstrated the recognition of a specific Slavic-Macedonian national identity, which is questioned in the official historical narratives of Greece and Bulgaria, and, at least on the Balkan track, the papist aspirations of the Patriarchate of Constantinople were limited. Ultimately, the pragmatic position of the Serbian Orthodox Church did not allow the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid to be turned into an instrument for realizing the interests of the Phanar supported by Western countries and took away the conflict potential from the topic that could contribute to the political demarcation of Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia. Nevertheless, in the prognostic part of the conclusion, a high probability of ‘church wars’ resuming is stated, but with a new, not united by Orthodoxy, list of participants, namely containing representatives of the Albanian and Macedonian communities.

Memoirs of the Battle of Okinawa: From the Perspective of ‘Mabuigumi’

This article focuses on the story ‘Mabuigumi’ (‘Spirit Stuffing,’ 1998) by Medoruma Shun, a contemporary writer of Okinawan descent. The story explicitly depicts the history of the Battle of Okinawa and the people who were traumatized by the war. First, this article demonstrates that landscapes and living things evoke memories of the war and people, and they play a significant role in showing that people’s present lives remain threatened. Second, the article conjectures that an āman (a hermit crab) represents Okinawa, which was traumatized by the mainland, and shows that Uta (the protagonist) is burdened by the guilt of her own survival. In addition, it considers the love of a mother (Omito) and son (Kōtarō) for each other. Third, this article illustrates that the history of the mainland was decentralized through visual expressions of personal memories of war. The history of mainland Japan does not regard the fact that Japanese soldiers killed Okinawans during the Battle of Okinawa. History, as officially narrated by the Okinawans, changes its narrative content depending on the shifting relationship between Okinawa and the mainland. This work relativizes and decentralizes the official historical narratives of the mainland and Okinawa through repressed personal memories of the war.

SOVIET PERIOD OF HISTORY AND HOLOCAUST IN ORAL HISTORY STUDIES: BETWEEN OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL MEMORY

The aim of this paper is to examine the mechanisms of action of individual and collective memory on the features of remembering/ forgetting / interpreting complex pages of history. The use of oral historical memories has allowed to trace the level of influence of stereotypes and dominant (official) historical narratives that were formed both in the Soviet period and in the independence era. The methodological basis of the study is the tools of oral, social history and the history of everyday life. Scientific novelty. The article is written on the basis of oral historical evidence. The article focuses on the issues that break stereotypes about Jews formed during the Soviet period. The collected evidence constitutes an important source of information that explains the peculiarities of the formation of social memory and political factors that determine the agenda of historical policy in a given period. 
 Conclusions. The article considers several blocks of problems that reflect the most typical stereotypes, fixed at the level of consciousness, behavioral attitudes, partially presented (or omitted) facts from history, which to some extent destroy them. The memoirs used in the article, which were collected in the framework of the project "Voices" in 2020 in Zhytomyr region (in which the author has participated), reflect the similarity of general ideas, assessments, tone, and memory stereotypes about anti-Semitism, the legitimacy of the Holodomor’s status of the genocide directed exclusively against ethnic Ukrainians, the role and place of Jews in the victory over Nazism, the peculiarities of evacuation, and the issues of preserving and honoring the memory of those killed during the Holocaust. At the same time, those memoirs demonstrate the differences between collective and individual memory, which preserves plots that to some extent destroy stereotypical attitudes that have long been ingrained in the mind and, accordingly, influenced the formation of social memory. The analysis of the interviews shows that oral history has significant source potential for studying various issues and sections of Soviet and modern history that await their researchers.

The True North Strong and Free? Casting Shadows on Whose History Students Learn in Canadian Universities

Race-based discrimination in Canada exists at the institutional and structural level. While acknowledging its existence is a crucial first step in eradicating this particular form of discrimination, an essential second step includes implementing structural changes at the institutional level in Canadian universities. In an effort to disrupt the Eurocentricity of knowledge production this commentary argues that the Canadian government’s official historical narrative that depicts Canada as being born of the pioneering spirit of British and French white settlers fails to capture the actual history of the country. Rather, it fosters the continuation of the supremacy of whiteness thereby causing significant harm through the perpetuation of racial bias. We argue that the history and contributions of Indigenous, Black, and Chinese Canadians, all of whom were in this country prior to confederation, should be told in a mandatory university course. Our findings indicate that while a number of universities have individual courses, usually electives and some graduate degrees on Indigenous, Black, and Chinese history, there is little offered from the Canadian context and certainly nothing that is a mandatory course requirement. In addition, we suggest compulsory university staff-wide anti-racism training; the ongoing hiring of professors and sessional instructors who are racially representative of the population of Canada; and community outreach, mentorship, and counselling programs that are designed to help students who are underrepresented in Canadian universities. In our opinion, we believe that these changes have the potential to provide a lens to disrupt settler colonial spaces, mobilize race in academic curricula, and encourage social justice actions that can offer a more inclusive learning environment.

I Will Tell You My History: Rewriting to Revolt in the Process of al-Tārīkh al-badīl (Allohistory)

Abstract In an epoch of revival of the historical novel, Arabic literature tries to provide its own response to the construction of al-tārīkh al-badīl, namely “alternative history” or, also, allohistory which, as a literary genre, was originally a branch of science fiction. By proposing the idea of a counter-narration, the search for historical alternatives becomes a matter of great importance and responsibility. What happens if the writer tries to construct an alternative point of view, a counter-narration in which “History” is transformed into an almost fictional story? Far from an act of betrayal, this can be interpreted as a restoration of iltizām whenever the narrative potential, or the “if” contained within the narrative, comes true. This article aims to present works where the authors wonder: “What would have happened if…?” This question opens space for literary alternatives to mainstream or official historical narratives.