An article by Alexei Miller, a professor in the Department of History, and Alexander Kamentsev, a graduate student in the same department, has appeared in the journal Communist and Post-Communist Studies. The article is titled "The Cossacks of Southern Russia in 21st-Century Memory Politics".
In modern Russia, the memory of the Cossacks is immortalized in monuments and museum expositions; their culture and history are described in school textbooks, including specialized ones; Cossack classes have been opened in some regions, and hundreds of groups in social networks are dedicated to discussing the history of the Cossacks.
The central and regional authorities are actively involved in the politics of memory and have successfully incorporated the Cossacks into the power vertical. This has been largely facilitated by an effective memory policy based on the theme of the Cossack as defender of the Fatherland. The Cossack organizations themselves, both official and unofficial, also play an important role. However, there are practically no special studies of this topic. At the same time, it deserves attention and careful analysis not only because of the various intensive processes taking place in this sphere, but also because this case has a number of unique characteristics and allows us to take a fresh look at some dichotomies widely used in memory studies, such as victim and heroic narratives, official and unofficial memory, and memory politics at the local and national level.
Citation
Alexey Miller, Alexander Kamentsev; The Cossacks of Southern Russia in 21st-Century Memory Politics. Communist and Post-Communist Studies 2024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/cpcs.2024.2014678