War memories play an important role in building nation’s solidarity. For Russia World War II continues to provide a unifying memory which, unlike many vestiges of the Communist past, remains largely uncontroversial. The ongoing conflict with Ukraine has added a new dimension – namely the mobilization of war memories intended to change the public opinion about another nation. First evidence suggests that this attempt by the state and its various media outlets succeeded as Russian public opinion about Ukraine changed drastically.
The relationship between Russia and Ukraine after the USSR ceased to exist was never simple. Nevertheless, public opinion of Ukraine, as data from the Levada center show, was rather favorable during the last 16 years: the proportion of people accessing their attitudes towards Ukraine as “good” rarely fell under 50% and in some years rose above 70%. In July 2014 this number dropped to 33%. This change in attitudes shows relative success of mobilization of WWII memory and presentation of Ukrainians as the new fascists that were carried out for the most part by the state-controlled mass media. I use this case to analyze mechanics of mobilization of war memories: both from above through media channels (such as TV news and newspapers) and its translation into discourse “from below” visible in blogs and Internet boards.
