PulseExploreJournal ClubDebatesTrendingResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeExploreJournal ClubTrending
Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
August 19, 2025Culture & History Digital Journal0 citationsOpen Access

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

View Full Paper
STSergey TroitskiyEstonian Literary MuseumLLLiisi LainesteEstonian Literary MuseumAFAnastasiya FiadotavaEstonian Literary Museum

Key Points

  • Historical memes can legitimize contemporary events and portray superiority over enemies, offering a unique perspective on the conflict.
  • Evidence indicates that these memes evaluate current events and can either ridicule or praise involved parties, affecting public perception.
  • The study employs an analytical approach to identify recurrent motifs in memes related to the Russian war in Ukraine and their historical significance.
  • Understanding stance is critical when analyzing historical references in memes, highlighting their potential influence in shaping narratives.

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 We identify recurrent motifs and look at the relationship between their historical references and their stance.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 Stance needs to be considered when analysing the historical references in memes.

Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper

Cite This Study

Troitskiy et al. (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68af4754ad7bf08b1ead3f38https://doi.org/10.3989/chdj.2025.477
Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Unveiling the War and Constructing Identities: Exploring Memes in Ukrainian and Russian Social Media during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine2024 · 4 citations
  2. 2The power of memes: personification as a marker of psychological distance in memes about the war in Ukraine2024 · 5 citations
  3. 3“Tears have never won anyone freedom:” a multimodal discourse analysis of Ukraine’s use of memes in a propaganda war of global scale2024 · 7 citations
  4. 4Do We Know Whether to Laugh or Cry? User Responses to @Ukraine’s Dark-humour Meme2024 · 10 citations
  5. 5Imagefare: How Political Satire Became a Weapon in the Russo-Ukrainian War2026