Selective Memory.

Selective Memory; we all suffer from it from time to time. We choose to ignore certain parts of a story or anecdote because it either paints us in a bad light or it undermines our position in an argument or debate. Generally, when these select points are brought to light, we ignore them. We don't really like them all that much because they make us look bad. And, really, who wants to look bad?

Selective Memory is a problem we historians are constantly dealing with, whether it's the selective memory that nations impose on their people, or our unwillingness to keep ourselves open to evidence that punches holes in our previous theories. Well, we are currently witnessing some astounding selective memory here in Russia. Let me disclose the mystery:

This Wednesday, 9 May, is Victory Day in Russia. The day we celebrate the Red Army's successful capture of Berlin and the end of the Third Reich. In Russia, what we call World War II is referred to as the Great Patriotic War and the big cities are decked out in bright reds, oranges, whites, and blacks (it puts any 4th of July decorations I've seen to shame). Russians are very proud of the fact that they defeated the Fascists (they rarely refer to them as the Germans...just the Fascists, I think it's a leftover from classic marxism which believes in the abolition of national identities). But on Saturday, as I was walking around, I noticed that all these Victory Day Banners say that the war was from 1941-1945. This intrigued me. Although, indeed, the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany in the spring of 1941, the Red Army invaded the Baltic States and Poland in September of 1939 (the result of an alliance Stalin had signed with Hitler that summer). I asked one of my professors about this period. I asked what the Russians called this period. She told me that I was mistaken and that it was the Germans who invaded Poland. I told her that I knew that, but that the Soviet Union invaded on 17 September 1939. She seemed entirely dismissive about it and seemed to think that I was mistaken. In fact, she seemed totally unaware that the Soviet Union had occupied much of northeastern Europe from the fall of 1939 to the spring of 1941 (they also tried to invade Finland, but failed miserably).

This, to me, is shocking. If you talk to any Pole, they will curse the Russians as much as the Germans for the downfall of their country. It seems to me that this period is even more important now, in the wake of the row over the Soviet monument in Estonia. No one here seems to care that, had Hitler not invaded Russia, Estonia would STILL have been a Soviet territory. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the USSR did not "liberate" Estonia, they were taking back what they rightfully stole fair and square. Good luck trying to explain that to anyone here. If a university teacher doesn't know that the Soviets invaded Poland, think of the population on the whole. They'd probably spit in your face and call you a fascist (which is another irony considering the number of vocal fascists (who are also the most ardently pro-Russia) live in this country). Interestingly, most Russians will also say that the original cause of all this supposedly "anti-Russian" behavior by other states can all be traced back to the Americans, who desperately want the Russian economy to fail.

I can safely say that this is, by far, the most out-of-touch society I have ever lived in.