“Eagles in Their Heads, Snakes in Their Hearts…"
Napoleon, Borodino, and National Identity in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Not long after the Battle of Borodino in 1812, the war against Napoleon became a key element of official national identity in Russia. Ever since, the state politics of memory has repeatedly exploited the memory of the victory in the “Patriotic War” for current needs. Especially in times of crisis, the memory of victory in war has served to legitimize rule and to conceal acute problems. At the same time, however, the “Napoleon myth” stimulated subversive criticism of conditions within Russian and discussions about Russia’s role in Europe.
(Osteuropa 1/2013, pp. 29–50)