Politics & Governance / Domestic Politics / Authoritarianism & Dictatorship

How Putin's Russia Rewrites History & Culture: The Shocking Truth Behind the 'Conservative Turn'

Cultural and Political Imaginaries in Putin’s Russia

Niklas Bernsand, Barbara Törnquist-Plewa

Think you know Russia? Think again. In this video, we dive into the 2019 book *Cultural and Political Imaginaries in Putin’s Russia* by scholars Niklas Bernsand and Barbara Törnquist-Plewa. Discover how the Kremlin has transformed from a patron of the arts into a political investor, weaponizing culture, memory, and even fashion to shape national identity. We reveal the hidden tensions between Russia as a 'Eurasian empire' and a 'national island,' and how the regime uses Soviet symbols, Stalin's legacy, and even birth rate ads to control the narrative. From the crackdown on artists like Pussy Riot to the 'banal nationalism' in everyday products, this is the uncomfortable reality behind Putin's Russia. Watch to understand the propaganda machine that rewrites history and the surprising ways it influences your world view.