Aim. To identify the role of the publication of archival documents in the formation of the historical memory of society. Methodology. The work is based on the author’s experience in preparing documentary publications, as well as on the generalization of existing data from domestic and foreign historiography. Results. In the new reality of information wars and technologies that allow manipulating public consciousness, the formation of historical memory based on reliable information about the country’s past is of strategic importance. The publication of documentary collections makes it possible to effectively counter the threat of loss of sovereignty, acting as a kind of «doctor» for the historical memory of society. The search for the causes of the death of the USSR requires an analysis of the “Stalinist” socio-economic model, which remained the “skeleton” of the Soviet “project” even after the 20th Party Congress. It determines the relevance of the publishing project, implemented on the basis of the funds of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences, prof. V. V. Zhuravlev. Research implications. The line of documentary publications, which include “ The economic legacy of late Stalinism. 1947-1953” and “Social policy of the USSR in the postwar years. (1947-1953). Documents and materials”, has already been published and highly appreciated by researchers. These publications allow us to compare the long-term concept of the country’s development with its practical implementation in post-war social policy, revealing both the grandiosity of the plans and goals, and the price paid by the society for trying to implement them.