List of Figures; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; Maps; Introduction: War and the Tensions of Patriotism; 1. Stalin's Toast: Victory and the Vagaries of Postwar Russocentrism; 2. Victory Days: The War Theme in the Stalinist Commemorative Landscape; 3. Usable Pasts: The Crisis of Patriotism and the Origins of the War Cult; 4. Monumental Memory: Patriotic Identity in the High War Cult; 5. Patriotic Wars: Late-Soviet War Memory and the Politics of Russian Nationalism; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
Provides a bold new interpretation of the origins and development of World War II's remembrance in the USSR.
Jonathan Brunstedt is Assistant Professor of History at Texas A&M University.
'The Soviet Myth of World War II represents a major new study of
Soviet ideology and commemorative culture during the postwar era.
Combining extensive archival research with insightful analysis,
Jonathan Brunstedt highlights the place of pan-Soviet and
internationalist appeals in war commemoration. His book stands as
an important corrective to the idea that Soviet leaders were
Russian nationalists.' David L. Hoffmann, author of The Stalinist
Era
'Jonathan Brunstedt takes us deep into the myth that developed
about Soviet victory in World War II and how it provoked intense,
often contradictory debates about the nature of patriotism in the
USSR. The Soviet Myth of World War II is insightful, deeply
researched, and an important work for understanding the nature of
postwar Soviet life.' Stephen Norris, author of A War of Images
'A meticulously researched and beautifully written contribution to
debates about national identity and commemoration in the Soviet
Union. Using a wide range of textual and archival evidence,
Brunstedt ably charts five decades of tensions about whether to use
the myth of World War II to foster a Soviet multi-ethnic patriotism
or to promote an imperial Russo-centric narrative.' Karen Petrone,
author of The Great War in Russian Memory
'As today's Kremlin struggles to navigate between strident Russian
nationalism and its multinational polity, while urgently promoting
a World War II-centered patriotism, The Soviet Myth of World War II
- a truly compelling book that provides a deep historical context
for current ideological battles - could hardly be more timely!'
Nina Tumarkin, author of The Living and the Dead
'This work is an imposing intellectual force in Soviet studies. The
source base is remarkable … [It's] an amalgam of social history,
political history, cultural history, and, above all, a history of
memory … This work is a towering academic achievement that puts
forth imposing evidence and a convincing thesis. Brunstedt is
thorough in his research, and he offers up a compelling and
original argument to Soviet and Slavic studies, particularly with
his contention regarding the divergent nature of the two ideologies
in question. This work is recommended to specialists in Soviet and
Eastern European studies. And given the … 'timely' nature of this
work, it would not at all be surprising to see this caliber of work
come to the forefront of many academic communities as geopolitical
questions begin to surface in parts of the former Soviet Union.'
Christopher Bishop, H-War
'The book is a major contribution to our understanding of ideology,
Russian nationalism, and the Soviet political elite in the
comparatively less-studied late Soviet period. Brunstedt
convincingly demonstrates the presence of competing paradigms.
Moreover, his nuanced analysis of the political debates shaping the
war myth's content reveals how public sentiment confined
ideological choices … Likewise, his study showcases the varieties
of Russian nationalism percolating in the postwar period, drawing
our attention to the fracturing of interests between the party,
groupings of intellectuals, and the public in a manner that
encourages further inquiry … This is a masterful overview of the
intricacies of ideological negotiation, as well as the advantages
and perils of deriving legitimacy through memory of war.' Erina
Megowan, The Russian Review
'[A] tour de force of historical analysis … The Soviet Myth of
World War II is a highly valuable addition to the historiography of
the Soviet Union, providing much-needed nuance to our understanding
of the victory myth. Outside of Soviet studies, the book will also
be of interest to scholars of memory politics and imperial
governance. One can only hope that scholars will take Brunstedt's
sophisticated examination of the different strands of the victory
myth into the post-1991 era.' Dmitry Halavach, Europe-Asia Studies
Review
'The guiding myth of victory in the Great Patriotic War, argues
Jonathan Brunstedt in this impressive monograph, was designed to
cement Soviet national identity and reinforce citizens' loyalty to
the communist system from 1945 until the Soviet collapse.' Angela
Stent, Survival Review
'This is a welcome contribution on a timely subject about the myth
of Russia's role in WWII.' W. B. Whisenhunt, Choice Review
'Jonathan Brunstedt has produced an original, provocative, and
highly compelling debut monograph … Drawing on an array of archival
and published primary sources and applying meticulous textual
analysis, The Soviet Myth of World War II is an impressive feat of
historical scholarship. This is a book that demands but also
rewards close reading. At a time when the Russian state is reviving
the Soviet victory myth and marshalling nationalist sentiment to
justify its brutal war in Ukraine, Jonathan Brunstedt has provided
a vital road map to recent ideological trends. His work should find
an audience not only among specialists in Soviet history and
commemorative culture, but also anyone hoping to understand why the
war's memory remains so powerful in the present.' Alexander
McConnell, The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review
'The Soviet Myth of World War II. Patriotic Memory and the Russian
Question in the USSR offers great insights into the complexity of
creating the myth of World War II as a crucial unifying factor in
the USSR and for the emergence of a Soviet identity. … The book is
an essential foundation for future research on the development of
the Soviet cult of World War II and its continuation in the newly
established countries that gained their independence after the
collapse of communism.' Olha Martyniuk, H-Soz-Kult (2023),
(https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-128331)
'Clearly and effectively dissecting a wide range of archival and
ideological sources relating to memory policy, Brunstedt shows that
during the war and late Stalinism, the leader and his ideologues
alternated between or sometimes combined the two strands of the war
myth. During de-Stalinization, however, the Russocentric strand
became associated with Stalin's excesses … It is refreshing to see
such a tightly argued, seriously researched academic monograph … In
light of Brunstedt's work, we can see more clearly how the broader
struggle between reform and counter-reform, westernizers and
Russophiles, anti-Stalinists and neo-Stalinists not only survived
but intensified after 1991 and 2000.' Michael David-Fox, Slavic
Review (2023)
'… a significant contribution to the historiographies of Communist
Party ideology, commemorative culture, and national identity in the
postwar USSR.' Nina Tumarkin, The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review
'Brunstedt challenges those historians that accept Soviet victory
in 1945 as the triumph of the Russian people and state, and the
moment when an ethno-nationalist principle was established in state
practice … The implication of this research … is to highlight that
this was not simply Russia's war, and that many non-Russian peoples
had memories of the conflict and a stake in its subsequent meaning,
interpretation, and commemoration. All too often the historiography
has overlooked the many and varied discussions of multiple forms of
postwar patriotism … What emerges is a more nuanced and complicated
picture of memorial culture that helps us reframe this as a
genuinely Soviet conflict, not simply a war that Russia laid
exclusive claim to.' Robert Dale, Kritika: Explorations in Russian
and Eurasian History
'… examines the technologies and mechanisms of cultural management
and myth-making used by Soviet elites to create a common
(supra)national identity for which the Great Patriotic War became a
unifying factor … Jonathan Brunstedt's research not only enriches
our understanding of Soviet memory of the war, but also contributes
to the debate about Russian nationalism and internationalism in the
USSR, and the various goals and objectives of Soviet and
Russocentric narratives. The book will be of interest to
researchers of Soviet history dealing with issues of war memory,
national politics and the preservation of historical heritage.'
Roman Lyalin, Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research
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