The pope has recently delved into dangerous territory by addressing young Russian Catholics and reminding them of their heritage, including the “great Russia” of Peter I and Catherine II. This statement pleased the Kremlin, given Vladimir Putin’s admiration for Peter the Great and his denial of Ukraine’s independent identity. Unsurprisingly, Ukrainians were furious and accused the pontiff of using Russian talking points.
The Vatican clarified that Pope Francis’s remarks were not meant to praise Russian imperialism, and he has consistently condemned the invasion of Ukraine. However, he did generate controversy last year by suggesting that NATO’s expansion may have contributed to the conflict. The past is especially sensitive because Putin has made it a battleground for his nationalist agenda. While he has recently focused on the empire era, his narrative of a stronger Russia primarily relies on the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.
This narrative not only justifies aggression, such as the supposed need to “denazify” Ukraine, but also shapes the course of events. Dr. Jade McGlynn argues that Russia’s preoccupation with rewriting history has led Putin and his circle to start believing their own lies. In fact, Putin’s 7,000-word essay on the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians preceded the invasion in February of last year. The government’s efforts to control historical narratives and suppress alternative perspectives have intensified over the years, including the closure of Memorial, a human rights group that documented Soviet political terror and its victims.
Authoritarian regimes worldwide follow the maxim from George Orwell’s 1984: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” Their goal is not only to promote themselves and erase unfavorable aspects of their reputations, but also to forge a national identity that solidifies their power. This practice is evident in countries like Hungary, Poland, and India, where history textbooks have been altered to fit political agendas.
However, China presents the most striking parallels with Russia in terms of manipulating history for political purposes. Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, consider history to be central to their political project. They use a narrative of national recovery from foreign aggression, drawing on multiple 20th-century traumas. Like Putin, Xi Jinping has created a “constructed constancy” that blurs contradictions and presents a choice between political control or chaos. China also perceives alternative narratives as existential threats, outlawing “historical nihilism.” Similar to the old Soviet joke, the future might be certain under these leaders, but it is the past that has proven unpredictable.
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