The Invisible Front: Erasure of Polish Memorial Sites in Russia after 2022
(2026) ÖCKR07 20261Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology
- Abstract
- Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, state ideology and memory politics in Russia have undergone significant changes. This shift has been accompanied by the consolidation of official historical narratives and increasing pressure on alternative or critical ones. In particular, the commemoration of Stalinist repression has become more contested, with growing evidence of the destruction and removal of memorial sites associated with victims of Soviet-era violence. This thesis examines the post-2022 transformation of memorial landscapes in Russia through the empirical lens of monuments dedicated to Polish victims of Stalinist repression. Drawing on a dataset compiled by the human rights organization Memorial, the study... (More)
- Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, state ideology and memory politics in Russia have undergone significant changes. This shift has been accompanied by the consolidation of official historical narratives and increasing pressure on alternative or critical ones. In particular, the commemoration of Stalinist repression has become more contested, with growing evidence of the destruction and removal of memorial sites associated with victims of Soviet-era violence. This thesis examines the post-2022 transformation of memorial landscapes in Russia through the empirical lens of monuments dedicated to Polish victims of Stalinist repression. Drawing on a dataset compiled by the human rights organization Memorial, the study analyzes documented erasure of commemorative sites across Russia. The focus on Polish memorials is motivated by their historical and political significance within long-standing tensions between Russia and Poland. Theoretically, the thesis builds on the concept of "repressive erasure" developed in the work of Paul Connerton, and extends it through the notion of mnemonic security in contemporary authoritarian contexts. The study addresses a gap in existing scholarship, which has largely focused on the instrumentalization of history in wartime propaganda while paying limited attention to the material destruction of repression-related memory sites within Russia itself. Methodologically, the research combines qualitative case analysis with documentation of monument destruction. The study aims to demonstrate how post-2022 memory politics contribute not only to narrative reframing but also to the physical restructuring of memorial spaces, revealing a broader logic of mnemonic governance in contemporary Russia. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, memory politics in Russia have become increasingly restrictive, with growing pressure on alternative interpretations of the past. This thesis examines the post-2022 transformation of memorial landscapes through the case of monuments dedicated to Polish victims of Stalinist repression. The study analyzes documented cases of the destruction and removal of commemorative sites across Russia. Theoretically, it builds on Paul Connerton’s concept of "repressive erasure" and connects it to the notion of mnemonic security in authoritarian contexts. The thesis argues that post-2022 memory politics in Russia involve not only narrative reframing, but also the physical restructuring of memorial... (More)
- Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, memory politics in Russia have become increasingly restrictive, with growing pressure on alternative interpretations of the past. This thesis examines the post-2022 transformation of memorial landscapes through the case of monuments dedicated to Polish victims of Stalinist repression. The study analyzes documented cases of the destruction and removal of commemorative sites across Russia. Theoretically, it builds on Paul Connerton’s concept of "repressive erasure" and connects it to the notion of mnemonic security in authoritarian contexts. The thesis argues that post-2022 memory politics in Russia involve not only narrative reframing, but also the physical restructuring of memorial space. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9239083
- author
- Liuliaeva, Ekaterina LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ÖCKR07 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Stalinist repression, memory politics, mnemonic security, war in Ukraine, repressive erasure, monuments, authoritarian regime
- language
- English
- id
- 9239083
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-01 15:43:45
- date last changed
- 2026-07-01 15:43:45
@misc{9239083,
abstract = {{Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, state ideology and memory politics in Russia have undergone significant changes. This shift has been accompanied by the consolidation of official historical narratives and increasing pressure on alternative or critical ones. In particular, the commemoration of Stalinist repression has become more contested, with growing evidence of the destruction and removal of memorial sites associated with victims of Soviet-era violence. This thesis examines the post-2022 transformation of memorial landscapes in Russia through the empirical lens of monuments dedicated to Polish victims of Stalinist repression. Drawing on a dataset compiled by the human rights organization Memorial, the study analyzes documented erasure of commemorative sites across Russia. The focus on Polish memorials is motivated by their historical and political significance within long-standing tensions between Russia and Poland. Theoretically, the thesis builds on the concept of "repressive erasure" developed in the work of Paul Connerton, and extends it through the notion of mnemonic security in contemporary authoritarian contexts. The study addresses a gap in existing scholarship, which has largely focused on the instrumentalization of history in wartime propaganda while paying limited attention to the material destruction of repression-related memory sites within Russia itself. Methodologically, the research combines qualitative case analysis with documentation of monument destruction. The study aims to demonstrate how post-2022 memory politics contribute not only to narrative reframing but also to the physical restructuring of memorial spaces, revealing a broader logic of mnemonic governance in contemporary Russia.}},
author = {{Liuliaeva, Ekaterina}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Invisible Front: Erasure of Polish Memorial Sites in Russia after 2022}},
year = {{2026}},
}