ABSTRACT
Referring to history and drawing on historical language in contemporary political discourse in Russia is a common practice utilized not only by prominent figures but by people on an everyday level to indicate their political preferences. In this chapter, Ivan Kurilla examines the linguistic role of history in society, particularly in the communication of sociopolitical issues. Leaning on the traditions of social constructivism and approaches to “presentism” proposed by French scholars François Hartog and Henry Rousso, Kurilla highlights that the present constructs the past and future that it requires and goes on to draw on the metaphor of “social glue.” This is highlighted in the chapter through Putin's suggestion to create uniform textbooks of Russian history and the Kremlin's use of the memory of the Great Patriotic War as a basic resource for “gluing” society together.
