Дискурс Пи (Jan 2021)
The Politics of Memory of the Great Patriotic War in the Lipetsk Region: Actors, Specifics, Consequences
Abstract
To legitimize themselves, political actors actively use historical plots, appealing to important events in the history of the country, a particular region, bright and spectacular local stories. The purpose of this article is to analyze the politics of memory in the Lipetsk region. The most relevant discourse in which the regional memory policy should be considered is the events of the Great Patriotic War covered the part of the territory of the present Lipetsk region. The author is interested in the consequences of the politics of memory implemented by the authorities and its criticism in public discourse. The key plots of dissatisfaction with the memorial practices, described by the German scholar Aleida Assmann, serve as a theoretical basis for the research. These plots are projected onto the Lipetsk case. It is emphasized that the government controls the menu of interpretations, which extends to the entire power vertical, reaching the corridors of power of the Lipetsk region and its municipalities. Using a number of concrete examples, the author shows how the quality of commemorative practices sometimes lets the authorities down. This causes negative effects, contributing to the doubts concerning the sincerity of the officials. The article also focuses on local stories of dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities. The author comes to the conclusion that, on the one hand, the Lipetsk politics of memory of the Great Patriotic War is a part of the national memory politics implemented by the federal center. On the other hand, the historical and cultural characteristics of each constituent entity of the Russian Federation can make their own corrections to the general scenario of the commemoration. Therefore, it can be argued that there is a connection between the content of the memory politics in the Lipetsk region and its territorial and spatial specifics.
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