Who Would Grasp Balkans with the Mind? Belov M.V., ed. Historical Politics in the Countries of the Former Yugoslavia. St Petersburg: Nestor-Istorija, 2022

Abstract

The publication of the collective monograph “Historical Politics in the Countries of the Former Yugoslavia” is undoubtedly an important event both for political studies of historical memory and for Slavic and Balkan studies in Russia. Based on this monograph, D.Efremenko, using the example of the Western Balkan countries, reflects on the importance of the actor approach in memory studies, as well as on the role of historians in the formation of the collective memory of national communities. From his viewpoint, it makes sense to consider the phenomenon of post-Yugoslav “historical revisionism” discussed in the monograph not only as a substantive revision of the historiographic canon of Tito’s era, but also as a politically conditioned paradigm shift — the replacement of this canon with nation-centric historiographies. According to Efremenko, the texts presented in the monograph clearly indicate that historical narratives still play a crucial role in political discussions, being an integral component of the ontological security of macropolitical communities. In particular, the Kosovo (Vidovdan) myth continues to exert a strong influence on the Serbian political leadership’s decision-making related to the resolution of the conflict in Kosovo and the country’s integration into the European Union. This example demonstrates that problems in the field of ontological security can possess serious consequences for confirming or changing the international status of a country, as well as maintaining reliability and sustainability of alliances and partnerships with other states.