Russia and the War on History

Russia’s war against Ukraine took us by surprise. But a brief look at Russia’s history should have made us less surprised: war and violence have been constant companions of the Russians.

Conflicts, as in the past, mostly revolve around the interpretation of history. Surprisingly, few historians have described the country’s history and historical practices. This book, by history professor Klas-Göran Carlsson, is therefore essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Russia’s trajectory.

It portrays the entirety of Russia’s history and how the Russians have exploited it—glorifying, embellishing, distorting, silencing, and denying it. The book traces back to ninth-century Kievan Rus’ and directly links it to Sweden, as the Russians vehemently deny that the East Slavs relied on Swedish Vikings to build their kingdom. From there, we move to other controversial groups, such as the Mongols, the Byzantines, and the emperors who sought to destroy the West, culminating in the pivotal uprisings of 1917 and 1991, which have been invoked in a multitude of contexts and narratives.

The conclusion is clear: history is a weapon. Interpretations and uses of the past mobilize Russians and justify the war of history that Putin and his authoritarian apparatus are waging in the 2020s against their neighbor and the entire Western world.