Plurality of Memory
Monuments and the Politics of History in Ukraine
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The talk of “two Ukraines,” a Ukrainian-speaking west and a Russian-speaking east, may apply in some fields. However, the politics of history and memory with regard to the Second World War do not allow themselves to be squeezed into this dichotomy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, numerous new monuments were erected in Ukraine. Regional elites found in this a rewarding field of activity. Although almost every monument, and the view of history behind it, is in and of itself one-sided and authoritarian, a certain plurality emerges from the diversity in places of memory. This diverse memory culture provides social stability, for no population group is systematically excluded.
(Osteuropa 6/2008, pp. 197–210)