NATSIDEST VENNASRAHVAS – AFEKTIIVNE TÄHENDUSLOOME VENEMAA STRATEEGILISTES AJALOONARRATIIVIDES
BROTHERLY NATION, THE NAZIS – ACTIVE MEANING-MAKING IN RUSSIA’S STRATEGIC HISTORICAL NARRATIVES

Summary/Abstract: In 2005, Vladimir Putin called the dissolution of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”. Was it his estimation of a historical event or a guideline for policy-making? Historical interpretations have always played a major part in the formation of national identities but they are also a means to justify (geo)political objectives, form international alliances, and shape the public opinion internally and abroad. Russian propaganda is trying to create and spread a symbolic understanding about the significance of the Soviet Union in the 20th century based on political agendas. To shape the interpretations of the auditorium, Russia uses textual strategies in describing historical events with the purpose of arousing emotional reactions rooted in people’s cultural memory. In my attempt to conceptualise the emotionally charged strategic historical narratives of Russia, I use the semiotic approach to cultural psychology to reveal the concurrent presence of two contradictory narratives, i.e. Ukrainians the Nazis and Ukrainians as a brotherly nation, and Russia’s use of such narratives as a justification for mobilising its people.

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