Historical myths and collective memory in the space of research practices

Abstract

The article examines the main directions of research practices exploring the correlation of historical myths and collective memory. There is currently a new historiographic wave in historical science that deals with the study of commemorative practices (anniversaries of significant events of the past, reassessment of the activities and merits of historical, political and cultural “heroes”), which is reflected in the public space and largely shapes the current socio-political agenda. The systematization and analysis of existing theoretical and methodological approaches to comprehending commemorative practices aimed at preserving and/or eliminating the memory of the past in public space is one of the significant tasks of social sciences in general and historical science in particular. Historical memory is a key element in the construction of national identity. It is often based on one or several historical myths that not only determine a society’s perception of the past, but also in many respects construct attitudes to current events. Understanding the mechanisms of how commemoration of the past determines group behavior and individual strategies for interacting with the world is important from the perspective of studying the processes of national identity transformation and the stability of society as a whole.