The master's thesis examines the influence of historical memory as an ideational factor on the escalation of the war in Ukraine. Using qualitative analysis of Russian official discourse, it focuses on the process of Russian identity formation between 2014 (annexation of Crimea) and 2022 (start of the war in Ukraine). While most of the existing literature on understanding the war emphasizes the importance of material and geopolitical factors, this study argues that the temporal dimensions of identity formation—in particular, Russia's relationship to its own history—played a crucial but under-researched role in shaping the conditions for escalation. An analysis of the speeches in which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine shows how Russian identity, and consequently its foreign policy decisions, are shaped not only in relation to spatial Others such as the West and Ukraine, but also in relation to Russia's important historical Other, i.e. the Soviet Union. The findings contribute to the understanding of the process by which historical narratives contribute to the interpretation of foreign policy threats, moral justifications, and strategic decisions of states, and show how historical memory can also be a constitutive dimension of state identity. This complements constructivist debates on war, memory, and securitization and offers a unique perspective on the non-material foundations of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
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