"Critical situations" and mnemonic legislation: memory politics in the Baltic States and Russia’s war against Ukraine

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygų dalys / Parts of the books
Language:
Anglų kalba / English
Title:
"Critical situations" and mnemonic legislation: memory politics in the Baltic States and Russia’s war against Ukraine
Authors:
Budrytė, Dovilė
In the Book:
The politics of memory laws Russia, Ukraine and beyond. P. 189-209.. Oxford: HART Publishing, 2025
Subject terms:
LT
Tarptautiniai santykiai / International relations; Tarptautiniai konfliktai. Karai / International conflicts. Wars; Rusija (Russia); Ukraina (Ukraine); Lietuva (Lithuania).
Summary / Abstract:

ENInternational crises can be conceptualised not only as disruptive events, but as engines of new discourses and identities. As articulated by Dirk Nabers, "crisis represents a situation in which our everyday beliefs of how the world works are thoroughly disrupted by an event that is out of our control". Such disruptions challenge our beliefs about the world, our routines, and the ways in which we view the past. Thus, they are likely to exert a significant effect on memory politics and mnemonic policies. At the same time, changes in memory politics and mnemonic policies prompted by international crises may lead to an increase in conflicts over memory which, as Russia’s current war against Ukraine demonstrates, are related to actual conflict. The goal of this chapter is to explore this dynamic relationship between international crises and mnemonic policies, with the latter defined as a set of memory laws and norms regulating public remembrance. Drawing on the growing body of literature in international relations that focuses on the cultural dimensions of international crises, I am interested in analysing the intersection between crises and memory. How do international crises affect mnemonic policies? Are mnemonic policies primarily a result of domestic politics, or do international developments matter? Do all international crises have an impact on mnemonic policies, or are certain international crises more decisive and influential than others?.To gain insight into these questions, this chapter sets out to analyse changes in the mnemonic policies in the Baltic states that are related to three ‘critical situations’ (or ‘international crises’ ), namely (1) the disintegration of the Soviet Union, (2) the annexation of Crimea and the proxy war begun by Russia in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014 (described in Western media and scholarship as the ‘crisis in Ukraine’), and (3) Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The disintegration of the Soviet Union introduced new discourses about the illegal annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union during World War II (WWII) and related crimes, including mass deportations, political repression, and resistance to the Soviet regime. (According to offi cial discourse in the USSR, the Baltic states supposedly joined this union ‘voluntarily’ in 1940.) The 2014 events in Ukraine introduced high levels of insecurity in the Baltic states, making them painfully aware of their ‘uncertain sovereignty’ and Russia’s continued colonial ambitions. This chapter compares these two ‘critical situations’ with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In doing so, it asks, how is this ‘critical situation’ similar or different from the other two ‘critical situations’ ? What major developments in memory politics and memory policies are linked to this war? Section II of the chapter is theoretical, establishing the link between ‘critical situations’ and memory politics and policies. Section III presents case studies, analysing the three aforementioned ‘critical situations’ as they relate to the Baltic states. [From Introduction].

Subject area:
Politikos mokslai / Political sciences
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Updated:
2026-05-10 11:54:33
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