Discussant on the ASEEES panel “Memory Politics in Times of the Russia-Ukraine War”

This panel examines various dimensions of memory politics in the Russia-Ukraine war, ranging from from state-driven political manipulation of historical memory to grassroots debates over various interpretations of the past and the emergence of digital memory wars. It explores questions such as: How is history instrumentalized to justify military aggression? What role do ideological factions within Russia play in shaping narratives of the past? How do Ukrainian and Russian publics engage with politicized memories, particularly in digital spaces? By bringing together perspectives on official memory politics on the one hand and public reception and contestation of different narratives of the past on the other, this panel offers a comprehensive analysis of how memory is constructed, negotiated, and challenged in wartime. The panel highlights the significance of memory as an active force in shaping contemporary military conflicts.