Abstract
The author reflects upon the politicization of history, which takes the form of focusing on particular aspects or interpretations of historical events and forgetting or ignoring others. The place of memory can be closed or open to interpretation, to use the terms defined by French historian Pierre Nora in his "Realms of Memory." Governments regularly engage in the politics of memory to achieve particular aims because historical memory is such an important factor in national identity. Political and social groups sometimes consciously manipulate or spin the truth to establish their versions of history and national identity; this kind of historical politics is being played out quite prominently in post-Soviet Russia.