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Marshall University to host 2025 Charles Hill Moffat Lecture on Russia, World War II

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The Marshall University Department of History will welcome Dr. Karen Petrone, professor of history and Zantker Professor of Jewish History at the University of Kentucky, for the 2025 Charles Hill Moffat Lecture. Petrone will present “Vladimir Putin and Russian Memory of the Second World War,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Shawkey Dining Room of the Memorial Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Petrone’s lecture:

· Will examine how Russia’s memory of World War II has been sacralized, mythologized and reimagined as a central pillar of contemporary Russian nationalism.

· She will explore how Vladimir Putin has leveraged historical narratives of the war to justify Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

· And how the war’s legacy continues to shape Russian state legitimacy and patriotism today.

“Professor Petrone is an excellent resource for understanding how Russia has used historical memory to justify its actions in Ukraine and beyond,” said Dr. Chris White, a professor in Marshall’s history department. “Her expertise provides important historical context to those seeking a fuller understanding of the Russo-Ukraine War.”

Petrone is the author of “Life Has Become More Joyous, Comrades: Celebrations in the Time of Stalin and The Great War in Russian Memory.”  She is currently completing a book on war memory in Putin’s Russia and serves as co-director of the UK-JHF Holocaust Education Initiative.

“This promises to be a dynamic and exceptionally relevant presentation,” said Dr. Greta Rensenbrink, chair of the history department.

The Charles Hill Moffat Fund and the Marshall University Department of History sponsor the lecture. For more information, contact Rensenbrink at rensenbrink@marshall.edu.

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