Bloomsbury Academic
Putin's Russia and the Falsification of History: Reasserting Control Over the Past
Key Metrics
- Anton Weiss-Wendt
- Bloomsbury Academic
- Hardcover
- 9781350130531
- 9.21 X 6.14 X 0.81 inches
- 1.43 pounds
- History > Russia & the Former Soviet Union
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
This book provides a bold examination of the political use of history in contemporary Russia. Anton Weiss-Wendt argues that history is yet another discipline misappropriated by the Kremlin for the purpose of rallying the population. He explains how, since the pro-democracy protests in 2011-12, the Russian government has hamstrung independent research and aligned state institutions in the promotion of militant patriotism. The entire state machinery has been mobilized to construe a single, glorious historical narrative with the focus on Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
Putin's Russia and the Falsification of History examines the intricate networks in Russia that engage in historymaking. Whether it is the Holocaust or Soviet mass terror, Tsars or Stalin, the regime promotes a syncretic interpretation of Russian history that supports the notion of a strong state and authoritarian rule. That interpretation finds its way into new monuments, exhibitions, and quasi-professional associations. In addition to administrative measures of control, the Russian state has been using the penal code to censor critical perspectives on history, typically advanced by individuals who also happen to call for a political change in Russia.
This powerful book shows how history is increasingly becoming an element of political technology in Russia, with the systematic destruction of independent institutions setting the very future of History as an academic discipline in Russia in doubt.
Author Bio
Mr. Anton Weiss-Wendt received an M.A. in modern Jewish history at New York University and a B.A. in modern European history at the University of Tartu, Estonia. During his fellowship at the Museum, he was a Ph.D. candidate at Brandeis University.
Anton Weiss-Wendt is a Norwegian academic and historian
For his Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowship for Archival Research, Mr. Weiss-Wendt conducted research for his project “The Holocaust in Estonia: The Problem of Indigenous Collaboration.”
Mr. Weiss-Wendt has published several articles in scholarly journals including, “Extermination of the Gypsies in Estonia during World War II” in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Spring 2003); “What We Make out of the Holocaust: American and Estonia Compared,” in Vikerkaar (Spring 2001); and “The Soviet Occupation of Estonia in 1940-1941 and the Jews,” in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Fall 1998).
He has presented his research at major international scholarly conferences.
In 1999, he spoke on Estonian collaboration at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s symposium, Perspectives on Indigenous Collaboration in the Baltic States during the German Occupation. He has worked for the Robert Wagner Labor Archives at New York University, the Andrei Sakharov Archives at Brandeis, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Investigations.
He is the recipient of numerous awards including Dorot and Fulbright Fellowships as well as grants from the Soros Foundation, Max Kade Foundation, and German-American Exchange Program (DAAD).
Source: Holocaust Memorial Museum
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