Source: History News Network | Are Russians Really Long-Suffering
Russia
As Putin Zaps Lenin, Lavrov Hurriedly Rewrites History
“There is hardly any country history has been as utterly rewritten as Russia’s, from the tsars to communism…Indeed, like in the times of Russian tsars, emperors and general secretaries, the current Russian leadership’s real concern is great power status, which in the case of Russia, has always been achieved at the expense of its citizens’ prosperity.”
Source: As Putin Zaps Lenin, Lavrov Hurriedly Rewrites History
“The Surprising Consensus on What Experts Say about Putin” | History News Network
If you want to understand Putin and his motives this piece is very helpful and interesting: History News Network | The Surprising Consensus on What Experts Say about Putin
“Is Vladimir Putin an Ideologue, Idealist, or Opportunist?” | History News Network
History News Network | Is Vladimir Putin an Ideologue, Idealist, or Opportunist?
More on Putin’s abuse of history: “Vladimir Putin: History Man?” |History News Network
History as Propaganda: “Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible” – NYTimes.com
Museums in Russia are collaborators in sparking the flames of nationalism.
“Irina Y. Velikanova, a former Moscow City Council member appointed to run the museum last year, said the mission of any historical museum should be rooted in patriotism. ‘We don’t hide the fact that we are interested in forming the patriotic and civic position of Russian youth,’ she said. ‘Our goal is that when leaving our museum, all Russians would feel proud of their country.’”
Pride is one thing but history has shown that nationalism is more likely to incite hatred, intolerance, and violence. And unfortunately Russia is not the only country where nationalism is on the rise.
Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible – NYTimes.com.
Russia Fighting Information Wars with Borrowed Weapons | History News Network
More on Russia’s propaganda machine:
History News Network | Russia Fighting Information Wars with Borrowed Weapons.
Moscow’s Twisted History Lessons – NYTimes.com
Nationalists of all stripes have been particularly adept at distorting history to serve their own purposes. Once again, nationalism and its sidekick “selective history” have been on the rise, most notably in Russia. Vladimir Putin is a master of exploiting nationalism in the pursuit of power. Recently, as noted by Maxim Trudolyubov, Putin declared: “‘It’s time to stop taking note only of the bad things in our history and berating ourselves more than even our opponents would do,’ he declared at the annual gathering of international Russia experts known as the Valdai Discussion Club in 2013. ‘We must be proud of our history.’” Sound familiar?
Read Trudolyubov’s entire article here:
How He and His Cronies Stole Russia by Anne Applebaum | The New York Review of Books
After reviewing Karen Dawisha’s Putin’s Kleptocracy, Anne Applebaum concludes: “Since 2000, Russia has been ruled by a revanchist, revisionist elite with origins in the old KGB. This elite had been working its way back to power since the late 1980s, using theft on a grand scale, taking advantage of the secrecy provided by Western offshore havens, and cooperating with organized crime. Once in power, the new elite sought to maintain control using the same methods that the KGB always used to maintain control: through the manipulation of public emotion, and by undermining the institutions of the West, and the ideals of the West, in any way that it can. Based on its record so far, it has every reason to expect continued success.” Read her full review at:
How He and His Cronies Stole Russia by Anne Applebaum | The New York Review of Books.
Russia’s Ideology: There Is No Truth – NYTimes.com
Peter Pomerantsev wrote in The New York Times: “’Everything is P.R.,’ my Moscow peers would tell me. This cynicism is useful to the state: When people stopped trusting any institutions or having any values, they could easily be spun into a conspiratorial vision of the world. Thus the paradox: the gullible cynic.” This is a problem everywhere, but Putin has taken it to a new level.
Russia’s Ideology: There Is No Truth – NYTimes.com.