Ridefinire i confini attraverso la memoria L’Istituzionalizzazione della Grande guerra patriottica nella ‘Repubblica Popolare di Doneck’ (2014-22)

Eastern Europe has been shaped by intense geopolitical tensions following the conflict in Ukraine that began in 2014. In this context, the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ – a de facto state in eastern Ukraine – has systematically institutionalised the memory of the ‘Great Patriotic War’ (1941-45), transforming it into the founding myth of its state project. This study analyses how, between 2014 and 2022, war memory was used by occupation authorities to legitimise separatism and reinforce Donetsk’s symbolic belonging to the ‘Russian world’, highlighting its role in identity reconfiguration and geopolitical realignment.