The Return Narrative: How Russia Legitimizes Occupation

Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory extends beyond military conquest, encompassing the reshaping of historical understanding, collective identity, and communal belonging. Since 2014, Russian authorities have leveraged historical narratives as a means of governance in occupied Crimea and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics."

Following the 2022 invasion, these efforts intensified significantly in scale and institutional reach. Public institutions, such as the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), have played a pivotal role in this agenda. Established in 2012, RVIO now operates extensively in newly occupied Ukrainian regions, overseeing memorial restoration, educational forums, textbook distribution, and youth programs.

These initiatives consistently promote a narrative of historical restoration, portraying the occupied territories as regions rightfully reintegrated into a larger Russian historical community.

A key strategy in this endeavor involves the transformation of public spaces. RVIO has overseen the construction and restoration of numerous monuments across occupied territories, most notably in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. By mid-2024, RVIO had opened 19 memorial sites, alongside the development of new military memorials and complexes.

These projects, while varying in subject matter, uniformly frame contemporary Russian authority within a continuous historical struggle that links World War II, Soviet memory, and the present-day war in Ukraine.

One illustrative example is the reconstruction of the Saur-Mohyla memorial complex, originally dedicated to the Soviet liberation of Donbas during World War II. Damaged in 2014, the memorial was reconstructed in 2022 by RVIO in collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Defense. This reconstruction included not only the restoration of Soviet elements but also the addition of new reliefs honoring local militia heroes, Russian servicemen, and participants in what Moscow designates as a "special military operation."

By integrating contemporary figures with historical ones, RVIO presents both conflicts as part of a unified narrative against "Nazism."

Similarly, the Shurf Mine 4/4-bis memorial complex in Donetsk, honoring civilians killed during the Nazi occupation, has been reopened with a focus on connecting past atrocities to current military operations. Local officials emphasize the memorial's role in educating future generations about the importance of defending against fascism.

RVIO's initiatives also extend to incorporating the ongoing war into commemorative culture. In November 2025, the organization inaugurated the "Donetsk Sea" military memorial complex in occupied Donetsk, dedicated to participants in the war against Ukraine. This site aims to educate future generations and encourage school visits, framing current combatants as integral to the same historical narrative as earlier generations of Soviet and Russian soldiers.

Through these efforts, RVIO reinforces the occupation as an essential chapter in a broader historical narrative of Russian historical continuity and struggle.