The course aims at examining the problem of dramatic transformations in attitudes towards the Soviet past undergone by the Russian society since 1985 till nowadays.  Representations of Stalinism and that of Soviet regime have diverged over this period from a predominant radical denial of "everything Soviet" manifested in the heated public debates and wages of public revelations of Stalinism and the Soviet terror (1986-1991) to a sudden loss of interest in and an ignorance of the Soviet heritage (1992-1997) followed by the mass nostalgia for the Soviet times, revisionism and glorification of Stalinism (1999-2009). Alongside these transformations, debates on the Soviet past have moved to the very center of internal affairs and foreign politics. The course will consider the theoretical problems that this process in the Russian historical memory poses to the memory studies.

• Introduction: History and memory as related concepts. Origins of historical memory studies, their place and role in the XX century historiography. How historical memory is transmitted: collective memory, memory of social groups or individual historical memory? Sources to study historical memory: oral history, life story, opinion polls, fiction.

• Ideology of the Soviet intelligentsia (1960-1980ss). Debates over Stalinism during perestroika. Representations of the West and "market discourse" in mid-90s.
• Concept of totalitarianism and its role in the discourse over the Soviet past. The comparison of German and Soviet totalitarianism and its influence over perception of Stalinism in post-Soviet Russia.
• Soviet myth of the "Great Patriotic War" (1941-1945) and its role in the historical memory of Stalinism. 60s anniversary of the II WW and its impact on the historical memory and public debates.
• False memories as a new problem in memory studies: Russian and French cases. "Golden myth of Stalinism" and the selective historical amnesia in post-Soviet Russia. Opinion polls and oral history interviews on the memory of Stalinism.
• Memory wars and memory politics in post-Soviet Russia (2006-2010).  State politics in history education: textbooks on the Soviet history. Memory laws and academic freedom
• Closing discussion: Concept of trauma and its relevance for the post-Soviet case. Historical memory and current debates in historiography. 

The course is organized in cooperation with Aleksanteri Institute's Russian and East European Master's School.

Enrollment via NettiOpsu