On the other end of the spectrum there are such perennial classics as “the American civil war was about states’ rights” and “the British Empire was good actuall

On the other end of the spectrum there are such perennial classics as “the American civil war was about states’ rights” and “the British Empire was good actually.” Control of the historical narrative is absolutely fundamental to most reactionary nationalist (i.e. right-wing) political projects. It can transcend left-right boundaries as in Putin’s Russia today. He has shut down organizations like Memorial which was founded already during late 1980s to document Stalinist crimes. Why would he do that? As a self-proclaimed anti-woke, anti-liberal leader, wouldn’t you expect Putin to want to keep up the memory of Communists’ crimes? But he’s a Russian imperialist first and foremost, and sees the Soviet Union primarily in that light. Anything that sullies the history of Russian supremacy must be eradicated.