The Politics of World War II Memories in the North: Russia and Norway
Schedule
Tue, 04 Nov, 2025 at 12:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Forstanderskapssalen, Sentralen, Øvre Slottsgate 3, Oslo | Oslo, OS
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Join us when the NORMEMO project presents new research on memory politics in Northwest Russia and in relations between Russia and Norway!https://uit.no/project/normemo
Under Vladimir Putin, memory practices related to the Great Patriotic War have assumed an increasingly prominent position in Russian politics and identity-building, both in the domestic sphere and in Moscow's foreign policy. In this seminar, new research from the NORMEMO project showcases how the Kremlin-driven politics of war memories have unfolded in the northernmost parts of Norway and in Northwest Russia, two regions that share not only a border but also a long history of interaction.
The concluding lecture by Dr. Jade McGlynn illuminates how Moscow's memory policies are part of the Kremlin's information and cognitive warfare, exported to Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine as well as elsewhere.
PROGRAM
12.00-12.30 Lunch and mingling
12.30-12.35 Welcome. Stian Bones (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)
12.35-12.50 The NORMEMO project – topics, perspectives, and key findings. Kari Aga Myklebost (UiT)
12.50-13.25 Panel I. The reach of state-induced patriotism: Memory politics in Northwest Russia
Participants: Håvard Bækken (Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies), Elena Kochetkova (University of Bergen), and Helge Blakkisrud (University of Oslo). Chair: Kari Aga Myklebost
13.25-14.00 Panel II. Instrumentalizing war history: Russia and Norway
Participants: Joakim Markussen (UiT), Kristian Gjerde (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs), and Marianne Soleim (UiT). Chair: Stian Bones
14.00-14.15 Coffee break
14.15-15.00 Dr. Jade McGlynn: Memory Traps: Russian historical propaganda at home and abroad
Concluding remarks. Kari Aga Myklebost
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Jade McGlynn is head of the Ukraine and Russia programme at Centre for Statecraft and National Security, King’s College London, where she is also a Leverhulme Early Career Researcher. She is also an associated fellow at ICDS, Estonia, and CSIS, USA. She is the author of two books, Russia's War (2023) and Memory Makers: the politics of the past in Putin's Russia (2023). Her research focuses on Russia's war in Ukraine since 2014 through the lenses of identity, memory, propaganda, and occupation.
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Link for streaming can be accessed here:
https://www.sentralen.no/program/the-politics-of-world-war-ii-memories-in-the-north-russia-and-norway
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Photo: Russian military-patriotic youth organization Yunarmiia visiting Norway during the Kirkenes Liberation Commemorations, October 2019.
© Copyright Atle Staalesen/The Barents Observer
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