VOL. XVI (2010), NO 23 - The International Newsletter of Communist ...

The International Newsletter of Communist Studies Online XVI (2010), no. 23 287
Den Wortlaut des Bundesgesetzes über die Rehabilitierung der Freiwilligen im Spanischen
Bürgerkrieg siehe http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/3/321.1.de.pdf. Die Parlamentsdebatte siehe
http://www.parlament.ch/ab/frameset/d/n/4806/284915/ d_n_4806_284915_285114.htm.
Eine aktuelle Liste aller Schweizer Spanienkämpfer sowie Literatur- und Quellenangaben
siehe http://www.spanienfreiwillige.ch.
Soviet History in Debate: Power and History in Russia 2009.
In February 2009, the Russian Minister of Emergency Situations, Sergei Shoigu, suggested
the creation of a legal mechanism to prevent the denial of the Soviet Union's role in the
defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. In a speech infront of WWII veterans, he justified his
suggestion by referring to European countries having laws against the denial of the
Holocaust. 1 While liberal observers were wondering who of sound mind would deny the
obvious, the Russian government was indeed taking steps in that direction. On 7 May 2009,
two days before the Victory celebrations in Russia, President Dmitrii Medvedev in his blog
claimed to see a rise of "increasingly aggressive" "historical falsifications" concerning the
"Great Patriotic War". 2 A week later, on 15 May 2009, the President issued an order to
found a "Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the
Detriment of Russia's Interests" with the task of monitoring such attempts and drawing up
proposals for counter-measures. A list of members was presented at the same time, the
majority being not historians, but representatives of the state's institutions, including the army
and the FSB. 3 While Russian bookstores indeed carry plenty of Stalinist historical
falsifications – observers agree that they will not be the subject of the new commission – it is
rather coined as a tool of discipline against critical interpretations of post-WWII Soviet politics
and occupation in East-Central Europe and the Baltic states, also considering the concurrent
legislation projects against the "rehabilitation of Nazism (...) in the former territories of the
Soviet Union". 4 While significant reactions of institutions outside Russia were largely
missing, 5 the scientific community inside and outside Russia reacted overwhelmingly
negative. The Russian Memorial association published a harsh statement against the
commission, 6 and British historian Orlando Figes is quoted saying: "They're idiots if they
think they can change the discussion of Soviet history internationally (...) But they can make
it hard for Russian historians to teach and publish. It's like we're back to the old days." 7
Up to now, the Commission did not manage to pursue any meaningful action, and at the
same time it seems that the wind might change again considering Russia's treatment of its
Stalinist past. On 30 October 2009, the official day of remembrance for victims of political
1 See e.g.: "An anti-denial law of our own", RT Politics, 24.2.2009,
[last consulted: 5.12.2009].
2 Dmitrii Medvedev, "O Velikoi Otechestvennoi Voine, istoricheskoi istine i o nashei pamiati", blog.kremlin.ru,
7.5.2009, [last consulted: 5.12.2009].
3 "Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiiskoi Federatsii O Komissii pri Prezidente Rossiiskoi Federatsii po protivodeistviiu
popytkam fal'sifikatsii istorii v ushcherb interesam Rossii", 15.5.2009,
[last consulted: 5.12.2009].
4 Comp. e.g. Sonja Margolina: "Der Präventivschlag. Russland werkelt auch unter Medwedew weiter an seiner
revisionistischen Geschichtspolitik", Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 27.5.2009,
[last consulted: 5.12.2009].
5 See the statements by the European Parliament and the German "Petersburg Dialogue" at
[last consulted: 5.12.2009].
6 [last consulted: 5.12.2009].
and
7 Andrew Osborn: "Medvedev Creates History Commission", The Wall Street Journal, 21.5.2009,
[last consulted: 5.12.2009].