Mitrofanova A.V. The memory of Russian generations in the context of the theory of cultural trauma (based on the material of field research). In: Historical memory of a young person: ways of formation and ways of preservation. Collection of materials of the I All-Russian scientific and practical Conference, Moscow, May 21-23, 2021 ...

Abstract

The article is written within the framework of theory of cultural trauma, which implies a distance between a traumatogenic situation and the collective construction of trauma as its representation. The research was based on a series of in-depth interviews with the descendants of survivors of political repression, and aimed at clarifying the feelings and thoughts of respondents about the experiences of their ancestors. It was found out that the memory of descendants was fragmented and lacked any personal emotional attitude. Descendants found it difficult to ascribe meaning to the suffering of their ancestors and perceived the traumatogenic situation as something depersonalized and meaningless. This state of affairs prevents the descendants from developing a master narrative that would have a consolidating effect on Russian society. The author relies on non-narrative practices of constructing cultural trauma, which imply not the creation of a coherent narrative about a traumatizing event, but the embodiment of memory in material objects or actions.