Putin's Dark Ages : : Political Neomedievalism and Re-Stalinization in Russia / / Dina Khapaeva.

• Superior document: Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe Series
• VerfasserIn: Khapaeva, Dina,
• Place / Publishing House: Abingdon, England : : Routledge,, [2024]; ©2024
• Year of Publication: 2024
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Series: Routledge histories of Central and Eastern Europe.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (293 pages)

"This first in-depth comparison of Putin's neomedieval memory politics and re-Stalinization proposes new approaches to the study of the right-wing populist memory in Russia and beyond. Two decades before the war against Ukraine, a "special operation" was launched against the Russians' historical memory, to aggressively reshape the nation's understanding of its history and identity. The Kremlin's propaganda of World War II for the militarization of Russia is well documented, but the role of political neomedievalism - the glorification of Russian medieval society and its warlords - in rallying Russians to support Putinism had yet to be explored. The celebration of Ivan the Terrible, the sixteenth-century tsar, and the originator of large-scale state terror has become fused with the rehabilitation of Stalinism in the quest to reconstruct an empire. The post-Soviet case suggests that the worldwide obsession with "everything medieval" is not a purely aesthetic movement but may readily be weaponized against democracy. The book is intended for students, scholars, and non-specialists interested in understanding Russia's anti-modern politics and the ease with which post-Soviet society has accepted the terror that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Cover -- Endorsement -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Political Neomedievalism, the Memory of the Perpetrators, and Mobmemory -- 2. Putin's Neomedieval Politics of History -- 3. Post-Soviet Historians and Religious Activists on the Medieval Oprichnina -- 4. The Post-Soviet Far Right on Establishing the New Oprichnina -- 5. The Oprichnina and Serfdom in Popular Culture and Public Debates -- 6. Re-Stalinization in Putin's Russia -- 7. Working through the Past Russian-Style: Mobmemory in Vladimir Sharov's Prose -- Conclusion: The Politics of Reversed Time - Apocalypse as Practice -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.