Citation
Mälksoo, Maria. A Baltic Struggle for a 'European Memory': The Militant Mnemopolitics of The Soviet Story
. Journal of Genocide Research Vol 20, no. 4 (2018): 530-544. DOI: 10.1080/14623528.2018.1522828.
Findings
This article examines the Latvian documentary, "The Soviet Story," as a militant Baltic memory project which seeks to establish the parity of East and West European experiences with totalitarian crimes in the pan-European memory narrative of twentieth-century wars and genocide. Such efforts include claiming the inner similarity and moral equitability of Soviet communism and German National Socialism. The article investigates The Soviet Story as an example of the cultural front in the Baltic-Russian "memory war" over remembering the Soviet legacy, reading the film's message in the context of the broader East European politics of seeking pan-European condemnation of the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes. The film was sponsored by conservative European parliamentarians and the city council of the Latvian capital, Riga, and was premiered in European Parliament in 2008, with an aim of exerting pressure on the representatives to condemn the criminal legacy of the communist regimes in Europe. The article details how states like Latvia and Estonia have tried to get the EU to recognize denial of the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes as on par with denial of the Holocaust by using this film as evidence. The film however, according to the author, does not meet the criteria of critical history, makes sweeping generalizations about Western public opinion, and lacks the nuance required to credibly criticize the Soviet practice of communism.
Tags
Method: Qualitative Operation: State Initiation of info ops threat/attack Attack: Political/Legal Institutions of the state that is threatened/attacked Attack: General population of the state that is threatened/attacked Geoscope: Multiple countries UN Region: Eastern Europe UN Region: Northern Europe UN Region: Southern Europe UN Region: Western Europe DOD Region: EUCOM Country: Russia Type: Article Year: 2018
Research Background
- Research questions
- How can the 2008 film, "The Soviet Story," be understood as a cultural front of the Baltic-Russian "memory war"? What is the core message of this film in the context of East European politics of seeking pan-European condemnation of the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes? What is the transnational productivity of mnemopolitical projects such as "The Soviet Story" in light of the increasingly robust Russian (dis)information campaigns regarding the historical and contemporary issues of political reference?
- Hypotheses
- Even though "The Soviet Story" seeks to destabilize the familiar and accepted narrative of the Second World War where the "good" Allies beat the evil "Nazis," the film falls short of reshaping European memory politics.
Variables or Concepts
- Independent variables & concepts
- Production and release of "The Soviet Story" (inferred)
- Dependent variables & concepts
- Impact on shaping European memory politics (inferred)
Methodologies
- Qualitative method description
- Qualitative contextual examination of "The Soviet Story"
Time Frame
- Start: 2008
- End: 2017