Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Russia's Hero Cities : From Postwar Ruins to the Soviet Heroarchy, Hardback Book

Russia's Hero Cities : From Postwar Ruins to the Soviet Heroarchy Hardback

Hardback

Out of stock

Description

World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War to Russians, ravaged the Soviet Union and traumatized those who survived.

After the war, memory of this anguish was often publicly repressed under Stalin.

But that all changed by the 1960s. Under Brezhnev, the idea of the Great Patriotic War was transformed into one of victory and celebration.

In Russia's Hero Cities, Ivo Mijnssen reveals how contradictory national recollections were revised into an idealized past that both served official needs and offered a narrative of heroism.

This triumphant narrative was most evident in the creation of 13 Hero Cities, now located across Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

These cities, which were host to some of the fiercest and most famous battles, were named champions.

Brezhnev's government officially recognized these cities with awards, financial contributions, and ritualized festivities.

Their citizens also encountered the altered history at every corner-on manicured battlefields, in war memorials, and through stories at the kitchen table.

Using a rich tapestry of archival material, oral history interviews, and newspaper articles, Mijnssen provides a thorough exploration of two cities in particular, Tula and Novorossiysk.

By exploring the significance of Hero Cities in Soviet identity and the enduring but conflicted importance they hold for Russians today, Russia's Hero Cities exposes how the Great Patriotic War no longer has the power to mask the deep rifts still present in Russian society.

Information

Other Formats

Save 5%

£76.00

£71.49

Out of stock
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information