The course examines the Second World War and its impact on Soviet and Russian cultures. We will focus on the effects, phenomena and myths of the War ("The Great Patriotic War") in culture, art and society. In addition to this we will pay attention to questions related to gender, the role of victory in the discourses of war and the renewal and reconstructing of the memory of the war. The lecture series will start with an introduction to the history of the Second World War and the place war had in the rhetoric of the pre-war Soviet Union. The course then proceeds to looking into more detailed questions related to the War, such as women and the home front, the effects of war on different art forms, war propaganda, war heroes, etc. The aim of this course is to provide information about the history and culture of Soviet Union during the Second World War and to encourage to critical thinking in connection with the renewal of the myths of war and the changing of the memory of the war.