Jade McGlynn -The Myths Fuelling Acquiescence, Indifference and Support for Russian's War in Ukraine

Is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine about territory and resources, or is it about much more? An aging tyrant seeking to create a legacy or even lift flagging popularity ratings. Is it a struggle to control historical memory, or evidence of a country trapped by historical myths and delusions? Is there a coherent ideology behind the regime, or just a messy collage of propagandistic tropes? Russia seems to be unclear on its objectives and motivations, but Ukraine could not be clearer. Ukraine’s struggle is one for identify, culture, language and even survival, but it’s also a struggle to retain the right to question and reshape national history and not be sucked back into someone else’s imperial narrative.

Dr Jade McGlynn is Senior Researcher at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies. She is a Russia specialist and experienced researcher and lecturer, as well as adept at policymaking. Jade is a Polyglot political analyst with experience of living and working in several European countries. She has a PhD in Russian from the University of Oxford, with academic fellowships from Leverhulme, AHRC, Marie Curie, and Carnegie and has held positions in Russia, the UK, and US. She is the author of scholarly works as well as media articles and has a new book coming out in March 2023 – Russia’s War.

BOOKS:
Russia's War (2023)
Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia (2023)
Researching Memory and Identity in Russia and Eastern Europe: Interdisciplinary Methodologies (Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies) by Jade McGlynn and Oliver T. Jones (2022)