{"id":79360,"date":"2025-09-18T19:53:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T19:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservative.org.ua\/2025\/09\/18\/history-as-a-weapon-an-expert-discussion-on-narratives-hybrid-aggression-and-the-protection-of-historical-memory\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T20:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T20:07:13","slug":"history-as-a-weapon-an-expert-discussion-on-narratives-hybrid-aggression-and-the-protection-of-historical-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservative.org.ua\/en\/2025\/09\/18\/history-as-a-weapon-an-expert-discussion-on-narratives-hybrid-aggression-and-the-protection-of-historical-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"History as a weapon: an expert discussion on narratives, hybrid aggression, and the protection of historical memory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While fierce battles continue at the front, an equally fierce war is being waged on another battlefield, the information one. Its main target is our memory. History in the hands of the aggressor is not just an ideology, but a weapon of mass destruction. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

On September 16<\/strong>, the Interfax-Ukraine<\/strong> news agency hosted a panel discussion titled “History as a Weapon in the Context of Modern Aggression and Challenges for Ukraine and Europe.”<\/strong> The event brought together leading experts in the fields of history, security, politics, and defense – those who are well aware of the value of historical truth and the power of historical lies. <\/p>\n\n

The panel discussion was an attempt to provide a professional answer to the question: How does the Kremlin create and impose false historical constructs? How do these narratives work in Poland, Germany, and even in the occupied territories of Ukraine? And what can and should we-as a state, as a society, as individual citizens-opposition? <\/p>\n\n

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Security Club<\/strong>, the Conservative Platform <\/strong>and the InfoLight.UA <\/strong>analytical group with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Yuriy Honcharenko: “History is a battlefield for consciousness, not archival dust”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Opening the discussion, Yuriy Honcharenko<\/strong>, Chairman of the Ukrainian Security Club, noted that in the context of hybrid warfare, history has ceased to be just a science. It has become a weapon. Moreover, it is a highly accurate and systematic tool of aggression. <\/p>\n\n

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“We can no longer treat history as something aloof. It is not just memories. It is a battlefield. Against Ukraine, against Europe, against the very idea of civilizational stability,”<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

According to Honcharenko, the most dangerous form of this war is the manipulation of history in children’s education<\/strong>. He cited the example of Buryatia, where Russia is testing a new model of education: “We are talking about ‘seamless education’ where history is presented not as a science, but as programming. This model is already working, and it will soon be scaled up across the <\/em>rf. <\/em>It is based on a systematic distortion of facts, a complete loss of critical thinking, and the ideological formation of a “good citizen. This is total control over the child’s mind. They are told: if you want to live a good life, accept the official myth. Give up your identity”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Goncharenko emphasized that such a “story” is not just a danger, but a form of aggression that has consequences no less than missiles. “We must include historical policy in the concept of national security. Because information is also a weapon. History is another front where it is decided whose future will be.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Oleksiy Ivashyn: “The Kremlin is not only attacking the frontline – it is breaking historical trust”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Oleksiy Ivashyn<\/strong>, a veteran, researcher of the liberation movement, and analyst, speaks about history not as an academic but as a fighter. Indeed, he fought both on the physical front and on the informational front, where the enemy fires not bullets but fakes, archival fakes, and distorted narratives. “Working with historical issues is also an information operation. And if you take it on without understanding the consequences, you are already playing on the side of the enemy,” Ivashyn emphasized.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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That is why he recalled the words of the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov<\/strong>, which every historian, journalist, or teacher should remember as a principle: “Information is also a weapon. And if you unknowingly play along with the enemy, you should think about it.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

This thesis was central to Ivashyn’s entire report. He showed in detail how the Kremlin uses painful historical topics – Volhynia, Operation Vistula, interwar pacification – to destroy the strategic alliance between Ukraine and Poland. “This is a systematic campaign. Everything has been thought out to the last detail: fake news, activation of botnets, pseudo-scientific articles, YouTube documentaries, even diplomatic provocations. And all this is to drive a wedge between nations fighting the same enemy.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Ivashyn emphasizes that this is no longer just “information noise,” but a multi-level information and psychological special operation with a budget, plan, and goals. “<\/em>\u0440<\/em>ossia wants Ukraine to be left alone. Without trust, without partners, without a common history with Europe. And if we do not have our own historical policy, we will lose on this front.” <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

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