Myth Making in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia: Remembering World War II in Brezhnev’s Hero City

Author:   Vicky Davis (Independent Scholar, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:  

9780755602735


Pages:   368
Publication Date:   20 February 2020
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Myth Making in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia: Remembering World War II in Brezhnev’s Hero City


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Overview

The 1943 battle to free the Soviet Black Sea port of Novorossiisk from German occupation was fought from the beach head of Malaia zemlia, where the young Colonel Leonid Brezhnev saw action. Despite widespread scepticism of the state's appropriation and inflation of this historical event, the heroes of the campaign are still commemorated in Novorossiisk today by an amalgam of memoir, monuments and ritual. Through the prism of this provincial Russian town, Vicky Davis sheds light on the character of Brezhnev as perceived by his people, and on the process of memory for the ordinary Russian citizen. Davis analyses the construction and propagation of the local war myth to link the individual citizens of Novorossiisk with evolving state policy since World War II and examines the resultant social and political connotations. Her compelling new interdisciplinary evidence reveals the complexity of myth and memory, challenging existing assumptions to show that there is still scope for the local community - and even the individual - in memory construction in an authoritarian environment. This book represents a much-needed departure from the study of myth and memory in larger cities of the former Soviet Union, adding nuance to the existing portrait of Brezhnev and demonstrating the continued importance of war memory in Russia today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Vicky Davis (Independent Scholar, UK)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight:   0.426kg
ISBN:  

9780755602735


ISBN 10:   0755602730
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   20 February 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface Notes on the Text Introduction: The Myth of Malaia zemlia 1. What is a War Myth? Part I. War Correspondence and Memoirs: The Construction of the Myth through Literature 2. A Myth is Born: War Correspondence from Malaia zemlia 3. Early Memoir Literature 4. Brezhnev's War Memoirs 5. Beyond Brezhnev and Brezhnevism Part II. Leonid Brezhnev: Local Legend or National Statesman? 6. Brezhnev Comes to Town 7. The Godfather 8. The Making of a Modern Legend 9. The State Comes to Town Again Part III. Respect for the Dead: Ritual and Monumental Remembrance 10. Hats off to Heroes: The Beskozyrka Ritual 11. Myth and Monuments: The Place of the Dead 12. People on the Periphery Part IV. Meetings of Generations: Teaching the Young to Remember 13. Genes and Generations: Informal Transmission of Memory in the Family 14. The Educational Role of Veterans 15. Formal Education of the Younger Generation Conclusion: Looking Back to the Future Appendix 1. Some Comments about Novorossiisk Appendix 2. Interviewing Subjects in Novorossiisk Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Vicky Davis received her PhD from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London (UCL), and currently works as a freelance educational consultant and researcher. Davis has worked with a number of leading academics in her role as a researcher, including Roger Moorhouse on The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin (2014) and for Polly Jones (Associate Professor of Russian Literature at the University of Oxford) on several Soviet history projects. She has also published and presented in peer-reviewed journals, edited collections and at international conferences, and there is a section dedicated to her research on myth and war memory at the State Historical Museum in Novorossiisk, Russia.

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