Historical Memory as an Integrative Resource of All-Russian Civic Identity of Students

Abstract

Introduction. During the search for the foundations of the national consolidation of Russian society, the problem of collective historical memory is being actualized – ideas about the common past that have developed in the mass consciousness of Russians. Among the mechanisms of their construction are various types of commemorative practices and memory locations that support the feelings of citizenship and patriotism. The processes of solidarization with the all-Russian civic community in the youth environment are of the greatest research interest. The aim of the article is to describe the role of collective historical memory in the process of formation of all-Russian civic identity, identifying the factors influencing its configuration and the predictors of its actualization. Materials and Methods. As the empirical basis of the study, the data of an interregional sociological survey of 1–2 year students of the largest universities of the three subjects of the Volga Federal District of the Russian Federation (n = 1247, October 2020) are used. Results. The representation of the all-Russian identity among students is 62 %. The main role in its formation belongs to the emotional imagery of the represented historical knowledge, which determines the importance of such sources of information as family memories, fiction, and television. Discussion and Conclusion. The conclusions obtained as a result of the study, actualize the search for new forms of work on citizenship education of modern youth within the institutions of education, on the one hand, and solving the problems of mythologizing images of the past in the media environment – on the other hand.