Opinion | Russia’s narrative of a Great Patriotic War in Ukraine must be buried

Originally used to describe the Soviet victory over Nazi German invaders, the narrative is being used to push the Russian war effort in Ukraine

But no national narrative justifies the invasion of a sovereign country

Reading Time:3 minutes

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at a memorial to the Hero Cities during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the so-called Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941, in central Moscow, Russia, on June 22. Photo: Sputnik / Kremlin via Reuters

Published: 3:30am, 4 Mar 2023Updated: 4:01am, 4 Mar 2023

During the past year, an interesting booklet has appeared in Russia titled I Live, I Fight, I Win: Rules of Life in War. Approved by the Russian authorities, its intended audience is soldiers swept up in the Ukraine invasion. It includes sections titled “What a Special Military Operation Is” and “In Ukraine We Are Defending Russia”.

But perhaps the most eye-catching chapter is “The Great Patriotic War 2.0”, which reflects a vision of today’s war as an updated version, or even continuation, of the 1941-1945 conflict.

The chapter starts with a list of countries including Germany, Poland and Norway that have imposed sanctions on Russia, and asserts: “Now in Ukraine they are taking their revenge on Russia for our Great Victory. It means the continuation of the Great Patriotic War for us. And we must win, as our grandfathers did in 1945.”

The chapter includes misleading claims such as that Norway and Russia were on opposing sides of that war, but on one point it is clear: Russian troops are to not only exalt the official narrative of the Great Patriotic War but relive it.

It’s a message the Kremlin repeats at every opportunity. Last month, Vladimir Putin travelled to the site of the battle of Stalingrad to honour the more than one million Soviet soldiers and civilians who sacrificed their lives there in 1942-1943.

The battle is widely viewed as a turning point of the war; the Soviet heroism and victory there deserve the highest respect. But for Putin, it was an opportunity to conflate the Great Patriotic War with today’s Ukraine war.

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