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Abstract: Social Distinctions in Contemporary Russia: Waiting for the Middle Class Society?Aadne Aasland (NIBR, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Metropolitan University) reviews Social Distinctions in Contemporary Russia: Waiting for the Middle Class Society? edited by Jouko Nikula and Mikhail Chernysh (Routledge, 2020).

Håvard Bækken, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, reviews Putin's Russia and the Falsification of History: Reasserting Control over the Past, by Anton Weiss-Wendt (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021).

Svein Mønnesland, professor emeritus at the University of Oslo, reviews Yugoslavia and Political Assassinations: The History and Legacy of Tito's Campaign against the Émigrés, by Christian Axboe Nielsen, published in 2020 by I.B. Tauris.

Helge Blakkisrud (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs) reviews the anthology Nationhood and Politization of History in School Textbooks: Identity, the Curriculum and Educational Media, edited by Gorana Ognjenović and Jasna Joselić.

Author and journalist Halvor Tjønn reviews Erik Kulavig's book, Face to Face with the Russians: From the Middle Ages to the Present (Pantheon, 2020).

Ingmar Oldberg reviews In the North, the East and West Meet. Festschrift for Jens Petter Nielsen, edited by Kari Aga Myklebost and Stian Bones. This book contains 26 articles in Norwegian, English and Russian, starting with a good presentation of Professor Nielsen's life and career. In keeping with his interests, the well annotated articles cover several themes; the centenary of the Russian revolution, Norwegian-Russian relations since the Middle Ages, especially in the High North, Russian arts, and scientific cooperation. The book is beautifully illustrated.

The article analyses representations of history in today's Russia as part of the ideology for expressing central political concepts underlying the Putinist regime. Mainstream interpretations of history build on a populist vision of Russia as a community with a stable, unchangeable core of identity. In this ideological context, history serves as the canvas on which the 'authentic' Russian identity manifests itself. The present research article examines representations of history by focusing on the concepts of 'historical sovereignty', 'unity of history', and the role of elites in history. It finds that regime ideology in today's Russia relies on a sizable infrastructure that involves producing historical knowledge for the purpose of securitizing history and making it an instrumental element in the populist (conservative-communitarian) ideology. Sources for this study come from the network exhibition 'Russia – My History', contextualized through content analysis of the key producers of ideology in Putin's Russia.

Abstract: The Sleeping Country. Siberia in Russian History, Culture and GeographyTorben Heuer (lecturer in Russian language and culture, formerly affiliated with Aarhus University) reviews Det sovande landet. Sibirien i rysk historia, kultur och geografi (The Sleeping Country. Siberia in Russian History, Culture and Geography) written by Margareta Attius Sohlman.

Emil Edenborg (Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies at Stockholm University) reviews The Shortest History of Russia: From the Vikings to the Present Day (Den korteste historien om Russland: fra vikingene til våre dager) by Peter Normann Waage (published in 2020 by Wigmostad & Bjorke).

Abstract in English:Fragments of the Past – History's Role in Russian Contemporary Literature Fragmenter av fortid – Historiens rolle i russisk samtidslitteratur is a thorough analysis of the utilisation of history in post-Soviet Russian literature. The author argues that literature functions as a 'place of reflection' that can produce vital alternatives to the monolithic understanding of history promoted by the authorities, and as such, literature has regained its traditional influence in Russian society following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Helge Ø. Pharo, University of Oslo, reviews The Logic of Fear. The Cold War - a New Global History 1917-1961, by Poul Villaume (Gads forlag 2020).

Niels Bo Poulsen, director of the Department of Military History and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College, reviews Industry, War and Stalin's Battle for Resources: The Arctic and the Environment by Lars Rowe.

Abstract in English:Russia and the Beginning of HistoryMorgan Olofsson's Russia and the Beginning of History consists of several interviews that the former Swedish news correspondent made with people he met in the 1990s. The purpose, he says, is to see how people have fared in the timespan from the 1990s to 2018, but also, more ambitiously, to sustain a dialogue between people on topics like the gradual dissemination of authoritarian political systems. Olofsson argues that we "need to learn from history" to protect democratic values; that is, values that connect people. The structure of the book is reminiscent of Mikhail Zygar's All the Kremlin's Men (2016), short annotated chapters, with introductions. The interviews stand out as sharp and perceptive, but the structure and editing of the book leaves more to be desired.

Abstract in English: The Orthodox Legacy: Perspectives on Russia's Theological TraditionCaroline Serck-Hanssen reviews The Orthodox Legacy: Perspectives on Russia's Theological Tradition by Sten Hartung. The book is a broad exploration of the history and theology of Russian Orthodoxy.

Klas-Göran Karlsson, professor in history at Lund University, reviews Det Russiske imperiet. Fra sammenbrudd til triumph (The Russian Empire: From Chaos to Ascendancy) by Halvor Tjønn (Dreyers forlag 2020).