reception of the Holocaust in Russia: silence, conspiracy, and glimpses of light

In January 2005, Vladimir Putin stood at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. He did not mention the Jewish identity of the victims. The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate that Putin's speech reflects the way the Nazi genocide has been represented and used in Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union. In Russian history writing and historical events, there is still an evident disinclination to acknowledge that the vast majority of Auschwitz victims were Jews