Generational and Geographic Effects on Collective Memory of the USSR

Bibliographic Data

ID6180986
AuthorsRachel Mohr (0000-0002-0049-8668, Georgia Institute of Technology), Kate Pride Brown (0000-0002-0812-5997, Georgia Institute of Technology)
Year2021
Volume54
Issue1-2
Pages156-175
Publication date2021-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunist and Post-Communist Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-067X • E-ISSN: 1873-6920
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/j.postcomstud.2021.54.1-2.156
OpenAlexW3172099339
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited49

This study examines memory of the Soviet Union and political opinions in modern Russia through qualitative, semi-structured interviews across generations in two Russian cities. The study aims to explore the differences in memory and meaning of the Soviet Union across generation and geography, and to connect those differences to political dispositions in modern Russia. Respondents were asked about their impressions of the Soviet Union and modern-day Russia, and responses were coded for emergent themes and trends. The research finds that youth bifurcate along geographic lines; respondents in St. Petersburg were more likely to reject Soviet ideals than their counterparts in Yoshkar-Ola. The former also tended to prefer liberalism and globalization, while the latter expressed greater nationalism. Older respondents showed no distinct geographic trend, but gave more nuanced assessments of the Soviet Union due to the power of personal memory over cultural reconstruction. In younger respondents, these findings indicate that living in a cosmopolitan metropolis may condition interpretations of the Soviet past and influence contemporary political identity toward globalization. Youths living in smaller cities have less interaction with other global cities and therefore may have more conservative perceptions of the Soviet Union and Russia

Collective memory · Development economics · Emigration · Geography · Globalization · Nationalism · Perception · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Soviet union · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Psychology

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