About the Book
Oleksa Drachewych argues that Russia's instrumentalization of its memory of WWII has played a significant role in leading Russian forces to commit similar atrocities in its war against Ukraine. This connection between Soviet actions during and after the Second World War and Russian actions in its escalation against Ukraine plays out in many ways. Parallels exist in the atrocities and war crimes committed during each war, such as in the perceived motivations of perpetrators and the potential consequences of these acts. Implicit inspirations exist where the Russian government likely draws on the Soviet past through policies undertaken by Soviet predecessors. Finally, explicit cases are evident where the Russian government has directly referenced Soviet actions during and after the Second World War, connecting them to its actions against Ukraine. To make his argument, Drachewych explores a variety of categories: the rhetoric of denazification and related propaganda, sexual violence, mass murder and torture, the forcible deportation of people and theft of goods, and the weaponization of food. Russia's instrumentalization of the history of the Second World War is more than propaganda, leading to violent consequences. The history takes on new meaning in Ukrainian memory politics as Ukrainians reinterpret these events, too. Intersecting history, political science, memory studies, and genocide studies, Replaying the Second World War details the many possible connections, while also highlighting limitations, in comparing the Soviet past to the Russian present, in order to provide answers as to why Russian forces have committed extensive atrocities against Ukrainians and why the Russian government has instituted some of the policies that it has during this war.
About the Author :
Dr. Oleksa Drachewych is an Assistant Professor of History at Western University, and a Lecturer in the Department of History at King’s University College, both in London, Ontario, Canada. He specializes in the histories of the Soviet Union, modern European international relations, and international communism. Drachewych is the author of The Communist International, Anti-Imperialism and Racial Equality in British Dominions (Routledge 2018) and co-editor of Left Transnationalism: The Communist International and the National, Colonial, and Racial Questions (McGill-Queen’s University Press 2020).
Andreas Umland, M.Phil. (Oxford), Dr.Phil. (FU Berlin), Ph.D. (Cambridge), Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm, Senior Expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future in Kyiv, and Associate Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Review :
For anyone wondering why Russian propaganda calls the Ukrainian government ‘Nazi’, or where the shocking disregard by Russian commanders for the lives of civilians and even their own soldiers comes from, Oleksa Drachewych’s book provides exhaustive answers. The Russian government attempts to convince its own people—and the world—that it is refighting World War II, albeit in the name of Russian Orthodoxy rather than world Communism. An excellent antidote to propaganda, both old and new.
—Serhii Plokhy, Professor of Ukrainian History, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
In his well-written and accessible book, Oleksa Drachewych systematically works through an argument linking Russian war crimes in the present to those committed by the USSR in the Second World War. Prudent in his historical method and mindful of the scholarly complexities of this unfolding phenomenon, Drachewych cuts through the morass of claims and counter-claims to create an essential work for any scholar or student of Russia's war crimes, past and present. Replaying the Second World War will be a milestone in understanding the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin.
—Ian Garner, Assistant Professor of Russian History and Politics, Pilecki Institute, Warsaw
Oleksa Drachewych’s groundbreaking work will be invaluable to all readers seeking a better understanding of Russia’s invasion of sovereign Ukraine in the twenty-first century. In this well-written monograph, the author reveals the stunning parallels between Vladimir Putin’s offensive against his neighbour to the West, and Joseph Stalin’s harsh treatment of the Ukrainians, many of whom suffered under Nazi occupation, after World War II. In both cases, false narratives that attempted to discredit Ukrainian nationalism were used to justify acts of repression in Ukraine. Drachewych’s careful historical work and balanced approach renders these complicated events accessible to the seasoned scholar and the general reader alike.
—Andrea Chandler, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Carleton University, Ottawa
There are many books that focus on the causes of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but few examine its practices. In Replaying the Second World War, Oleksa Drachewych shows that when it comes to the Kremlin’s policies of occupation and control, history not simply rhymes, it often continues from Stalin to Putin. Focusing on population control, repression, occupation structures, sexual violence, mass expulsions and the use of food as a weapon, the book is a valuable resource to understand the nature of Russia’s behavior and violence.
—Eugene Finkel, Professor of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University, Bologna
