Commentary
Democratic Security
Orbán’s Failing Expectations Game – COMMENTARY
10 November 2025
1 July 2020
The current Kremlin leadership does not plan to change its approach toward its interpretation of the key historical events of the 20th century. It is highly probable the memory wars will continue.
A look to the past (both personal and shared with other countries) has become an integral part of Russia’s foreign policy in the last decade.
After the Second World War, the Western European countries managed to overcome the painful legacies of the past, based on the shared values of freedom, democracy and human rights, and this helped them not only to improve their mutual relations but also to create inter-state integration structures (the European Union and NATO). Historical rivals and enemies — France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, etc. — became members of these structures.
Conversely, current relations between Russia and some countries of the former Soviet bloc (the so-called “socialist camp”), have been marked by conflicts and mistrust, including those happening due to divergent views on history.