Attitude towards the leaders of the USSR in the context of the historical education of the Russians

Aim. To identify the features of social memory of the Russian society about the leaders of the USSR.
Methodology. The basis for this article is the data of sociological research carried out by the author’s team as part of the implementation of the scientific project RFBR no. 21-09-43023. The obtained sociological materials were interpreted as part of a comprehensive approach using ideographic and historical-genetic methods. The social memory of Russian society about the Soviet state leaders is considered as a dynamic explanandum developing in the context of political, socio-cultural and economic transformations which take place in the country.
Results. A large empirical material on the perception of the Russians of the Soviet era through the prism of memorial images and retrospective assessments of key figures of Russian history of the twentieth century was collected and systematized. A fundamental fact of the perception variability in the Russian public consciousness regarding the leaders of the USSR was revealed depending on the current situation in the country. At the same time, it was possible to establish a complex structure of ideas about individual leaders and the periods of their rule in the history of the USSR. The general image of the Soviet era through the rulers’ portraits is inclined to positive assessments. Revisionist and negative interpretations of the most important personalities and events of the Soviet era are not dominant.
Research implications. Analysis and interpretation of empirical data from sociological surveys made it possible to establish as theoretical laws periodic fluctuations in social memory about the USSR and the complex nature of the historical consciousness dependence on the current situation, historical policy and historical education, which allows us to talk about the factor nature of the formation and development of historical memory about the USSR. In addition, the authors came to the conclusion that significant changes are necessary in the content of historical education and the training of history teachers, as well as the introduction of special elements of cognitive counteraction to the attempts to falsify history into educational programs.

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