Work

“There’s a New Hitler in Town, and His Name Is…”: Historical Memes About the Russian War in Ukraine

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Our study analyses historical motifs in memes about the Russian war in Ukraine. We identify recurrent motifs and look at the relationship between their historical references and their stance. The results show that historical memes can offer a way of legitimising contemporary events, contribute to establishing superiority over enemies, evaluate current events, and ridicule or praise the people involved. Stance needs to be considered when analysing the historical references in memes.

Source: Culture & History Digital Journal

DOI: 10.3989/chdj.2025.477

Authors: Sergey Troitskiy, Liisi Laineste, Anastasiya Fiadotava, Guillem Castañar Rubio

Institutions: Estonian Literary Museum, Tallinn University

Language: English

Topic: Humor Studies and Applications

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum

Awards: G1348379687, G2476290867, G7752001337, G8835341279