The politics of memory of Putin ’ s Russia

This paper is a review of two books devoted to the historical policy of Putin’s Russia authored by Jade McGlynn (Memory Makers. The Politics of the Past in Putin’s Russia) and Andrzej Nowak (Powrót “Imperium Zła”. Ideologie współczesnej Rosji, ich twórcy i krytycy (1913–2023) [The return of the “Empire of Evil”. The ideologies of contemporary Russia, their creators and critics (1913–2023)]) The review focuses on the question of the use of history in Russian politics and the differences between the historical policies of democratic and authoritarian states.