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From State Terror to International Conflict : A place of memory: Katyn as a foreign policy tool of Putin's Russia

Sniegon, Tomas LU (2023) In AREI: Journal for Central and Eastern European History and Politics p.78-101
Abstract
This text discusses the transformations of the Katyn memorial site near Smolensk in western Russia, where, in 1940, the mass murder of more than 4,000 Polish military officers who were prisoners of war occurred. After the Soviet Union’s admission of guilt in 1990, it seemed for two decades that Katyn could also serve as a place for mutual reconciliation between post-communist Poland and post-Soviet Russia. However, in the period of increasing tension between Russia and Poland after 2010, the monument in Katyn became an object of Russian–Polish confrontation. The author concludes that the Katyn memorial complex today illustrates the tendency to patriotize and detraumatize Soviet crimes, whereby the positive events of the Soviet era –... (More)
This text discusses the transformations of the Katyn memorial site near Smolensk in western Russia, where, in 1940, the mass murder of more than 4,000 Polish military officers who were prisoners of war occurred. After the Soviet Union’s admission of guilt in 1990, it seemed for two decades that Katyn could also serve as a place for mutual reconciliation between post-communist Poland and post-Soviet Russia. However, in the period of increasing tension between Russia and Poland after 2010, the monument in Katyn became an object of Russian–Polish confrontation. The author concludes that the Katyn memorial complex today illustrates the tendency to patriotize and detraumatize Soviet crimes, whereby the positive events of the Soviet era – especially the victory over Germany in World War II – are ‘Russified’ and newly politically traumatized in parallel with the trivialization and marginalization of murder and crimes against human rights. The new form of memory in Katyn reflects an increasingly firmly dictated line from above that combines Russian nationalism, Orthodox faith, and a sentimental view of the period of Communist rule. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Russia, Poland, Katyn, Stalinism, communism, communist terror, Gulag, WW2, Pact Stalin-Hitler, Katyn, Russian historical culture, Soviet history, Stalinism, Crimes of communism, Polish history, Memory studies, Putinism, State patriotism
in
AREI: Journal for Central and Eastern European History and Politics
issue
1
pages
24 pages
ISSN
2956-2589
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0ef48d65-fc3f-439e-b69e-4a29baf0bfaf
alternative location
http://www.arei-journal.pl/webroot/upload/files/AREI-1-2023%20NET.pdf#page=79
date added to LUP
2022-12-02 00:12:34
date last changed
2023-04-24 11:16:02
@article{0ef48d65-fc3f-439e-b69e-4a29baf0bfaf,
  abstract     = {{This text discusses the transformations of the Katyn memorial site near Smolensk in western Russia, where, in 1940, the mass murder of more than 4,000 Polish military officers who were prisoners of war occurred. After the Soviet Union’s admission of guilt in 1990, it seemed for two decades that Katyn could also serve as a place for mutual reconciliation between post-communist Poland and post-Soviet Russia. However, in the period of increasing tension between Russia and Poland after 2010, the monument in Katyn became an object of Russian–Polish confrontation. The author concludes that the Katyn memorial complex today illustrates the tendency to patriotize and detraumatize Soviet crimes, whereby the positive events of the Soviet era – especially the victory over Germany in World War II – are ‘Russified’ and newly politically traumatized in parallel with the trivialization and marginalization of murder and crimes against human rights. The new form of memory in Katyn reflects an increasingly firmly dictated line from above that combines Russian nationalism, Orthodox faith, and a sentimental view of the period of Communist rule.}},
  author       = {{Sniegon, Tomas}},
  issn         = {{2956-2589}},
  keywords     = {{Russia; Poland; Katyn; Stalinism; communism; communist terror; Gulag; WW2; Pact Stalin-Hitler; Katyn; Russian historical culture; Soviet history; Stalinism; Crimes of communism; Polish history; Memory studies; Putinism; State patriotism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{78--101}},
  series       = {{AREI: Journal for Central and Eastern European History and Politics}},
  title        = {{From State Terror to International Conflict : A place of memory: Katyn as a foreign policy tool of Putin's Russia}},
  url          = {{http://www.arei-journal.pl/webroot/upload/files/AREI-1-2023%20NET.pdf#page=79}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}