Gaslighting our Memories

The other day, while dog walking I listened to The Eurasian Knot, a podcast discussing Soviet history,  The affable hosts were interviewing Tyler Kirk, an American scholar based in Alaska, about his 2023 release, After the Gulag, A History of Memory in Russia’s Far North. While his book focuses on the Komi region and my relatives were closer to Novasibirsk, nonetheless, I found the discussion fascinating because it made me reflect on the differences between history and memory.

AI quickly sums up the differences as follows: History is an interpretation of facts and depends on multiple points of view. Memory is limited to one point of view and not necessarily accurate. 

Memorial, the international human rights organization dedicated to collecting memories of those repressed under the Stalin regime, is banned in modern Russia. History is being re-written by Putin.  Political gaslighting thrives, making it more important than ever to focus on memories. 

Family get-togethers over the holidays are a great way to hear stories, share memories and to not let them get buried by time and political agendas. Our memories deserve to be the building blocks of our histories— not the other way around.  Happy Holidays. 

Circled area shows where my
grandmother died in transit camp in 1931