History: “A Common Science” or а Tool of Politics the Extreme Manifestation of which is War?

Abstract

The article is devoted to establishing a connection between political practices and history and, accordingly, the politicization of historical research, reassessment of the past in terms of its perceptions by politicians, their understanding of the principles of state building, as well as the course of their countries in regard to domestic and foreign policy. Based on this point of view, the author raises the topic of historical sovereignty of new states, establishing additional institutions for such work, which become independent actors in historical policy, promoting their concepts of the past with its heroes. Attention is drawn to the blurring of the German experience of constructing a pan-European narrative with the "elaboration of the past", eliminating "blind spots" and talking about "dark pages" under the pressure of Eastern European culture with its "history of two totalitarianisms". The practice of applying the "laws of memory" and historical narratives of Russia and the United States, historical discourses of other countries, in particular, China are analyzed. On this basis, it is concluded that the time when the world is "ill with history" challenges historical science and especially highlights the role and responsibility of scientists to reproduce knowledge about the past, the extent of their involvement in ideological and worldview conflicts as well as wars of memory, and requires special attention to the content of modern history textbooks. Given the development of events after February 24, 2022, the author points to the fact that the war against Ukraine has been the extreme manifestation of exploitation of history as a tool of politics by the Russian government.