Russian state, media, and diplomatic actors are exporting a militaristic conception of memory to bolster Russian influence abroad-and undermine that of its rivals. Through media and diplomatic institutions, the Russian government is using its levers of influence and public diplomacy to create memory alliances with target foreign audiences. Memory alliances can be defined as informal or formal associations formed on the basis of a shared narrative of the past: they form an important part of a broader Russian memory diplomacy long practised in Russia's 'near-abroad' but now being exported further afield. This paper theorises memory diplomacy and memory alliance-creation as a direct challenge to the Europeanisation of memory, arguing that Russian state actors are not only endeavouring to transnationalise their highly-selective historical narratives of the past but also to exploit grievances among those groups whose view of the past is excluded from mainstream European historical remembrance. To do so, the paper shares findings from research into the public statements, articles, broadcasts, and initiatives of the Rossotrudnichestvo cultural agency, the Russian Embassy and Foreign Minister, and Sputnik in Serbia and Germany over the last two years. First, it outlines the methods used by these actors to promote certain historical narratives with the aim of improving Russia's image or of appealing to target groups within Serbian and German society. Second, it examines which narratives were promoted, detailing the significant emphasis placed by Russian state(-aligned) actors on revisionist interpretations of the Yugoslav wars that highlight Serbian victimhood and ostensibly 'forbidden' positive memories of the former GDR. Third, it draws particular attention to the way these histories are framed as forgotten, even forbidden, within mainstream European narratives of the recent past. The paper concludes by arguing that the Europeanisation of memory has created a space of grievance into which Russian memory diplomacy is moving, all while opposing other memory cultures of grievance, such as those practised in the Baltic States and Poland.
