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Ivan Kurilla on Political Use and Misuse of the Past in Russia, the United States, and Elsewhere
Just twenty years ago, historians lamented their fading influence as economists set the tone of politics. Today, history has returned as the main language of power. In Russia, the United States, and elsewhere, debates over monuments, textbooks, and memory laws show how the past is mobilized to legitimize policies, polarize societies, and shape global conflicts. What does it mean when history itself becomes politics?
Ivan Kurilla is a historian of U.S.–Russia relations, national identity, and the political uses of history. He previously taught at Volgograd State University and the European University at St. Petersburg and has held appointments at Dartmouth College, George Washington University, Bowdoin College, Wellesley College, and Middlebury College. In 2024 he left Russia after being dismissed for opposing the war in Ukraine and is now based in the United States as a visiting scholar. He is the 2025-2026 Mershon Center for International Security Studies visiting scholar.
