Ukraine is really quite essential to the narrative that Putin in particular has pushed about who Russia is, what its role in the world is.

People think there is like a true version of history that has to be established and when you establish that then you'll understand like world events now and also

what war led up so then you'll have the correct world view and so what Russia's doing is not

stopping Ukraine from being Ukrainian there is no such thing as Ukraine in this version what

it's doing is saving them and bringing them back to being Russian.

Hey, welcome back to the Modern War Institute podcast. I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI, and in this episode, you'll hear a discussion I recently had with Dr. Jade McGlin.

She is a postdoctoral fellow in the War Studies Department at King's College London, and she is

also the author of two new books about Russia.

One of them is called memory makers and it describes how Russia's history is treated in the country

and often used politically.

The second book, Russia's War, really builds on that research and applies it specifically

to the war in Ukraine. As she explains, for many Russians, how they feel and what they believe about the war aren't

just a matter of government control of the media or not having access to alternative sources

of information.

It's much more complicated than that.

There are complex layers of history and national identity and narratives that combine to form

a sort of filter through which the war is understood. So while many in the

West see the war is a blatant act of aggression by Russia, Russians are effectively watching a

different war entirely. It's a really interesting discussion packed with important insights,

but before we get to it, a couple notes. First, if you're not yet subscribed to the MWI podcast,

you can find it on your

favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode. And second, as always, what you hear in this

...