LENIN AS A “SITE OF MEMORY” OF POST-SOVIET RUSSIA. MEMORY ABOUT POLITICS AND MEMORY ABOUT THE MEMORIAL PROJECT

Abstract

The article discusses the history of the communist memorial project, with Vladimir Lenin at its core. A theoretical framework is based on the concepts by Pierre Nora (‘sites of memory’) and Jan Assmann (‘cultural memory’ and ‘communicative memory’). The data sources are public opinion polls, transcripts of state officials' speeches, media coverage, and expert interviews conducted by the authors themselves. The cult of Lenin, which was important for the formation of Soviet identity, was sometimes an outcome of conflicts and compromises, employed in the most unpredictable ways. Opponents and open adversaries of the communists indirectly participated in its construction. The authors offer their explanations for the fact that today the memory of both Lenin and the Revolution is not perceived as a viable resource by any prominent political actor in Russia. Contemporary Russian society is divided in assessing Lenin's historical role, but the majotiry of citizens oppose the dismantling of the Soviet memorial project. The memory of Lenin is associated not with historical events, but with the Soviet memorial project instead. The “anti-revolutionary consensus” also influences attitudes towards this memorial project: the majority of Russians reject the revolution as a country’s prospect, they also reject symbolic politics regarded as revolutionary. This also blocks the radical dismantling of the Soviet memorial project. Lenin and the 100-year-old revolutionary events do not evoke vivid and strong emotions, unlike memories of repressions or the Great Patriotic War.