Kyrgyz SSR During the Great Patriotic War: Demographic Processes and Challenges

For the functioning and development of society the great significancehave demographic processes and changes (natural population growth,fertility, birth rate, mortality rate, aging of population, changes in regardto marriage, the frequency of celibacy, divorce). This paper analyzesthe causes and consequences of these processes and changes incontemporary society. The trends of demographic changes are not thesame in all societies in the world. In developed societies today can beobserved, with minor differences, the same demographic trends - lowand/or negative natural population growth, the rapid aging of population,low mortality rates, increasing of the divorces and the like. Onthe other hand, in underdeveloped societies are born many children,where weak economic conditions are conducive to a deterioration inthe material, social and health status of the population (illness andmortality, particularly of women and children). This clearly indicatesthat demographic processes and changes are not directly influencedby economic and social factors (the level of education, the developmentof society in general, etc.), but that there are a number of indirectsocial factors causing it (national, class, political, cultural, religiousand other). In response to the unfavorable demographic trends(population size, the age of the population, etc.) and the consequenceswhich population factor creates in many economic and social areas(reduction of the working population, the burden of social securityfunds, etc.), in the past two decades in the most countries populationpolicy was placed in the area of population fertility - there were introducedthe pro-natalist measures in developed countries and measuresto discourage procreation in underdeveloped countries.

This article explores demographical processes during the Great Patriotic War in the southern regions of the RSFSR: in the Krasnodar Krai and Ordzhonikidze (Stavropol) Krai, Rostov Oblast, Stalingrad Oblast, and Astrakhan Oblast. The study is based on published and archival documents from the Central Statistical Administration under the Council of Ministers of the USSR Fund in the Russian State Archive of Economics. Demographic dynamics in the southern regions of the RSFSR in 1941–1945 had common features with the main demographic trends elsewhere in the RSFSR and the USSR. This was a deterioration in indicators of natural reproduction in the second half of 1941–1942: a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in mortality, including that of children, and a decrease in natural growth in the first half of 1942. At the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, the main trends in demographic dynamics changed: the birth rate stabilized at an extremely low level, followed by slow growth, and mortality decreased markedly in comparison with 1942. Regions in the south of the RSFSR differed by more significant scales of population decrease and directly irretrievable losses. The reasons for this were not only the loss of mobilized cohorts, but also demographic consequences of evacuation and Nazi occupation. After occupation, the population of the southern Russian regions amounted to 60–70 % of the pre-war level.

Libraries are actively involved in the processes of achieving the goals of state cultural policy, especially their role increases in the period of information confrontation, distortion of historical truth in modern political conditions, in countering the rehabilitation of Nazism. The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941—1945. The Russian State Library carefully preserves the memory of the heroes’ brave deeds, reveals the pages of military history, makes available objective sources about the Great Patriotic War, promotes the historical truth about the tragic events of wartime. The purpose of the article is to highlight the activities of the Russian State Library in this direction. Various projects of the Russian State Library are aimed at the formation of patriotism, a sense of pride in the history of Russia and understanding of the processes that are currently taking place during the special military operation.Events timed to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War are presented. On April 22—24, 2025 the International Research and Practical Conference “Rumyantsev Readings — 2025” was held, one of its key topics was “Libraries and Preservation of Historical Memory. To the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”. Within the framework of the conference a special session of libraries of the CIS countries “Pages of the Feat of Peoples” was organized. On May 14—15, 2025, the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “Preserving Historical Memory of the Great Patriotic War: The Role of Libraries” was held. Other scientific events are also held: lectures, film screenings, etc.The following exhibition projects of the Russian State Library are presented in the form of an overview: “History of the Great Patriotic War in the Book Memory of Russia: To the 80th Anniversary of Victory”, “Territory of Memory and Glory of Women’s Feat”, “On the Way to the Great Victory: Legislation of the Great Patriotic War Period”, “Maps of Victory”, “Symbols of War and Victory: Visual Art Publications of the Great Patriotic War”, “Living Memory of Generations” and others.For the anniversary of the Great Victory the publishing house of the Russian State Library “Pashkov Dom” prepared and published the books: “Pages of Victory: Leninka in 1941—1945: Chronicle. Documents. Memories”, “Saur-Mogila: From Legend to Feat”, “The Songs Brought About by War and Victory: From the Collections of the Russian State Library”, the second edition of L.I. Fursenko’s index of literature “Publishing, Librarianship and Bibliography During the Great Patriotic War (1941—1945)” and others. A special section “Library of Victory” has been opened in the National Electronic Library, which contains collections of books, periodicals and documents about the Great Patriotic War.The various projects of the Russian State Library reveal rare archival and printed materials, give an opportunity to better understand and evaluate the contribution of our country’s citizens to the Victory, the scale and consequences of the war that changed the course of world history.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the experience of using competitive events as a tool of commemorative practices for the patriotic education of children and youth and the formation of their civic identity. Using the example of content analysis of essays submitted to the competition of creative works “The feat of a teacher during the Great Patriotic War”, it is shown that the comprehension of universal values and reasons for human actions in a competitive form by children and young people contributes to an increase in the effectiveness of preserving historical memory and patriotic education of the younger generation. Purpose : to explore and present the experience of using creative competitions as a tool of commemorative practices that allows you to preserve historical memory and form civic identity based on historical empathy. The methodology is based on systemic, contextual and axiological approaches; the leading research method is the narrative method. Based on the content elements of the narrative, the authors conduct a content analysis of the essays submitted to the competition of creative works “The feat of a teacher during the Great Patriotic War”. Content analysis was carried out according to the original method, which is an object of intellectual property of the authors, which is based on the ideas of V. Labov and J. Walecki about the six-element structure of the narrative [29]. The authors assigned each element of the structure of the narrative a code reflecting the goal of the study: patriotism, preservation of historical memory, professional activity, civic identity, purpose, subjective assessment. Content analysis involved the determination of numerical values, the compilation of a correlation matrix for the frequency and relevance of each code. The total sample was 25 essays. Thus, studying the narratives (essays submitted to the creative work competition “The feat of a teacher during the Great Patriotic War”) – reflections of future teachers over reality, the authors solve the problem of studying the social production of historical empathy and preserving historical memory. Main results : the article substantiates the need of modern society to expand and improve the efficiency of work to preserve the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War in the context of the teaching profession as a significant direction in patriotic education and the formation of civic identity of young people, as well as career guidance work; the experience of using the technology of competitive and project activities as an effective means of commemorative practices and the formation of historical empathy is presented. The novelty of the research lies in the use of the narrative method, the original method of content analysis of essays submitted to the competition “The feat of a teacher during the Great Patriotic War”, which allows to study the social production of historical empathy and the preservation of historical memory. Practical and theoretical significance of the results : the article shows the possibility of effective use of creative project and competitive activities attractive for children and youth for the patriotic education of children and youth, and also demonstrates the use of the narrative method to assess the effectiveness of the competition of creative works as a tool of commemorative practices and patriotic education of children and youth.

In 2025 Russia is celebrating an important anniversary – the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which further foregrounds the need to preserve the historical memory of it, which is formed and conveyed in the public consciousness thanks to a grandiose set of commemorative practices and «commemoration sites» created everywhere in our country. The purpose of the study is a conceptual analysis of various levels of «commemoration sites» of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 in Cheboksary as a special mechanism for preserving the historical memory of society. Materials and methods. The research methodology is defined in accordance with the principles of memoriology. The object and subject of research is not a historical event, but the historical memory about it. Research attention is also focused on the mechanisms by which it is formed, preserved and passed on to the next generations. The most important role in these processes belongs to commemorative practices and «commemoration sites», which have a close relationship. Both a «commemoration site» can become a base for implementing commemorative practices, and the memorials themselves initiate the creation of places of sacralization of the past. Results. The article analyzes the influence of central, regional and local «commemoration sites» in the process of forming and preserving the historical memory of the Russians about the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 on the example of Cheboksary. «Commemoration sites» of the Great Patriotic War are an integral part of the process of preserving and sacralizing the historical memory of the Russian society. Currently, Russia has a number of central memorial sites: the Grave of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg, the Monument-Ensemble «Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad» on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, the Victory Memorial on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow. All of them belong to places revered at the national level, and commemorative practices are carried out on their territory, which have a national scale of significance. A lot of commemorative work has been done at the regional level in all regions of the Russian Federation: monuments, steles, Victory parks with Eternal Flames were erected, museums of the Great Patriotic War were opened, and a number of state cultural and educational institutions were named after the heroes of the 1941–1945 war as a tribute to their fallen countrymen. Commemorative plaques were installed at the municipal level at libraries and schools, and small museums were opened. Cheboksary is a prime example of implementing the regional policy on implementation of commemorative practices and creation of «commemoration sites». They differ in their appearance, scale, and other features, but they perform the same function – they cherish the memory and are the basis for implementing commemorative practices, primarily ceremonial ones. Conclusions. The Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 became one of the key events in the Russian history. Actualization and preservation of historical memory about it is one of the most important tasks of state authorities and the society, which are the initiators of constructing «commemoration sites» of central and regional importance. Cheboksary has regional (at the national level, they are of central importance) and local «commemoration sites» that successfully realize the process of actualizing the heroic pages of the Great Patriotic War. Cheboksary’s experience is successfully implemented throughout the republic at the municipal level, where «commemoration sites» exist and continue to be created both in regional centers and in small settlements.

The authors carried out an analysis of semantic constructions about the role of Sevastopol in the Great Patriotic War. The basic question of the study is to assess the risks and opportunities of countering the technologies of information and cognitive wars, the scenarios of which involve the formation of lines of "civilizational faults" that destabilize social processes with the reformatting of history. The relevance of this research is connected with the definition of mechanisms for creating new historical and media meanings in the conditions of hybrid confrontation and modeling different variants of the development of historical events with changes in the historical and political maps of the world. First of all, this process concerns assessments of the Great Patriotic War and Victory as a historical and geopolitical achievement of Russia. The scientific novelty of the study consists in considering the collective memory of the Great Patriotic War as a network in the understanding of actor-network theory. It was revealed that the historical collective memory is filled with new symbols and signs, turning into an unstructured stream. Social actions that determine historical attitudes are being reinterpreted, a new symbolism becoming a new sociality with the broadcast of "victory" and the rejection of social and geopolitical achievements in the Great Patriotic War of the Russian people and the Soviet state. The current state of historical collective memory is filled with traces formed by both a fundamental event – the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and events of a political and social nature. Consideration of the collective memory of the Great Patriotic War as a network in the understanding of the actor-network theory allowed us to identify signs of information campaigns aimed at discrediting the role of the Soviet Union and transforming the Victory Day through the formation of an "import" information agenda.

In recent decades, negative socio-economic and demographic tendencies have been observed in mountainous countries, especially in rural areas. The analysis of contemporary tendencies in demographic processes, namely – changes in the absolute number and natural growth of rural population, average density and age structure of the rural population in Armenia are given in the article. The most urgent problems connected with ongoing demographic processes have been identified and possible solutions have been indicated. The data published by the Statistical Committee of the RA for different years by regions and territories regarding de jure rural population, age structure, birth rate and mortality rate of villages in 37 districts of the country were used as base data. During 2001–2023 the absolute number of rural population of the RA decreased by 65.6 thousand or 5.7%. Among other factors, the reduction of the rural population was also resulted by negative migration saldo and negative trends in the demographic processes of the rural population. The reduction of rural population in the country was reflected in the growth of gross agricultural production. The reason for the latter is also the incomplete and partial use of tens of thousands of hectares of pastures and other agricultural lands due to the shortage of labor force, since the RA still has a low level of intensification. As of 2022, only 212.4 out of 443.4 thousand ha of plowed land or 47.9% were used. The rate of villages with population of up to 200 inhabitants increased by 1.8% (from 16.1 to 17.9%). The number of demographically more vulnerable villages with population of up to 500 inhabitants increased by 30, or by 9.5%. Natural growth rate of the rural population in 2021 compared to 2010 decreased by 3.1‰. During 2001–2022 the proportion of the rural population younger than working age decreased by 8.6%, and in absolute terms it made up 112.7 thousand people in the country. Due to the emerging unfavorable demographic processes, problems have arisen that impede the socio-economic development of rural areas of the Republic of Armenia. The outcomes can be used by the state and local level bodies for developing social and economic development programs of individual regions, municipalities, rural areas and settlements.

The adoption of the Fundamentals of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values and the restoration of the title “Mother Heroine” in the Russian state award system testifies to the state’s concern about the problem of a strong and large family, makes us turn to the Soviet experience in solving the demographic problem that arose during the Great Patriotic war. The purpose of the work is to assess the impact on society of legislative decisions taken to improve the demographic situation in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War. The objectives of the study are: to describe and characterize new legal measures in the field of demography, to establish the impact of legislative decisions on family values, to determine the prospects for using individual measures to improve the demographic situation in modern Russia. The work uses historical-legal, formal-dogmatic, statistical and comparative research methods. The measures taken aimed at stimulating the birth rate are analyzed: 1) material support for large families and single mothers; 2) the abolition of the right to claim for establishing paternity; 3) complicating the divorce procedure; 4) moral encouragement of motherhood. Statistical data on the cost of food are given, indicating that the material support of motherhood by the state (payment of benefits) could not have a significant positive impact on the birth rate. The Soviet state resorted to stimulating demographic processes on the basis of existing ideas about the system of human needs, but the approach used turned out to be fraught with serious social problems. The change in public morality – the manifestation of tolerance towards men who are indifferent to the fate of their offspring, which led to the aggravation of the problem of fatherlessness – was a “side effect” of the radical novelization of family law and changes in the norms on the social security of citizens. In the Soviet and modern period, the need to recognize the merits of fathers with many children who conscientiously fulfill their maintenance and upbringing duties to their children remained out of sight of the legislator.

Introduction. Two agglomeration-type settlement systems have formed in the Stavropol Krai, – the monocentric Stavropol agglomeration and the polycentric agglomeration of the Caucasian Mineral Waters (the CMW). At the present stage, demographic processes in the Stavropol Krai most intensively occur within the “borders” of the represented agglomerations; migration processes are observed leading to the population being drawn into the centers of agglomerations, which increases their role in the settlement system. The purpose of this study is to compare the spatial and demographic dynamics of agglomerations in the Stavropol Krai, highlighting common features in demographic processes and features characteristic of each agglomeration. Materials and research methods. The work uses data from the Office of the Federal State Statistics Service for the Stavropol Territory (from 2012 to 2021), population census materials (1989, 2002, 2010, 2021), documents from territorial planning and urban planning, our own observations and field results territory research. Based on these data, a general description of the Stavropol agglomeration and the CMW agglomeration is given, spatial organization of settlement is analyzed, and current trends in its demographic development are determined. Research results and their discussion. In the course of the study, the authors analyze the birth rate, mortality, natural population growth, migration processes, population dynamics, and the ethnic composition of the population of each agglomeration of the Stavropol Territory. The analysis was carried out at the level of cities, urban and municipal districts, which makes it possible to assess intra-agglomeration processes, whether they are uniform for the entire agglomeration or have spatial patterns. Conclusions. The analysis of demographic dynamics of two agglomerations of the Stavropol Krai allows the authors to draw conclusions. The Stavropol agglomeration and the agglomeration of the Caucasian Mineral Waters act as centers of concentration of the urban population in the Stavropol region and are the main areas of attraction for migrants. Agglomerations are characterized by increasing numbers and natural population growth. Migration population growth, which is currently declining, has contributed to an increase in population throughout the post-Soviet period. Currently, agglomerations have concentrated the significant demographic potential of the Stavropol region.

The Great Patriotic War is one of the central events in the history of the Soviet period for the population of the Russian Federation, regardless of age, education, residence or nationality. The research subject is the student youth’s memory of the war. The article presents the results of a survey conducted in the largest universities of Vladimir region: Vladimir State University and Vladimir branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. 360 people enrolled in humanitarian, economic, legal, technical and natural science specialties were surveyed. Much attention is paid to channels of information about the Great Patriotic War. The assessment of the main events and phenomena of the war is analyzed. The target audience has an important feature in comparison with older age groups. Witnesses of the historical events of the military era did not participate in socialization of modern students. The results show that most of the students perceive the war as a heroic feat. On the other hand, a significant part of students does not exclude the loss of interest in these events in the future. The readiness to take part in perpetuating the memory of dead soldiers is at a low level. The main source of information about the Great Patriotic War is school and university programs, and the Internet. The education system is responsible for historical memory formation.

The article analyzes the historical signifi cance of the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, the common contribution of the member countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition to crush Nazi Germany and the need to preserve historical memory, confronting the falsifi cation of history in the context of the transformation of the global world order and the modern system of international relations. The authors pay special attention to the importance of patriotic education in the training of future international specialists within the framework of the implementation of the Complex of activities of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry on preparing and celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945.

The subject of the study is the current state of communication activities in the process of social construction of historical memory, which emerges between state power and local communities. The object of the study is the process of constructing historical memory using communication means such as commemoration, mass media, and the internet. The author reviews contemporary research dedicated to commemorative practices, defines the essence and significance of commemoration in modern society, and establishes the channels of communication through which influence on public consciousness is exerted. Special attention is given to the study of regional experiences concerning the formation of historical memory about the Great Patriotic War and the feats of the Soviet people. For instance, using the Astrakhan region as an example, the author examines the processes that shape historical memory through the creation of spatial markers (monuments, museums, parks, etc.). The focus is on the coverage of these processes in the media and the internet, as well as the involvement of the local community. The research was conducted using general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, allowing for the understanding of commemoration as a means of communication and an element of social reality. The case study method enabled the selection of specific communication means (commemoration, mass media, the internet) defined within the framework of the modern period of societal development. As a result of the conducted research, the author arrived at the following conclusions. There is an increasing focus on the process of forming historical memory. The study of information messages in mass media, social media channels, and news sections of websites belonging to regional state and municipal authorities supports the assertion that one of the central themes is the mobilization of collective memory about significant events of the Great Patriotic War. A territorial character is evident in the preservation of historically significant events in the consciousness of the local community and the formation of attitudes towards them. It has been established that this process is most actively carried out in anticipation of celebratory anniversaries of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (the establishment of new monuments, parks, naming streets after heroes of the Great Patriotic War, etc.). The author's specific contribution to the study of the topic is the examination of commemoration as a means of communication in the process of constructing historical memory. The novelty of the research lies in the analysis of regional communication means (using the example of the Astrakhan region) utilized in the social construction of historical memory.

This article, using open historical data, attempts to analyze the participation of Soviet border troops in the Great Patriotic War. Using actor-based and managerial approaches, we identify the specifics of border guard combat training, which allowed them to become one of the elite branches of the USSR Armed Forces. Limited information complicates a sociological analysis of this professional group, as much data on the activities of border guards during this period remains unavailable. Our analysis draws on research by historians and military scholars, as well as memoirs by prominent military personnel, publications by amateur historians, and specialized websites devoted to the Great Patriotic War in general and the contribution of border troops in particular. These factors may have contributed to the limited coverage in the academic literature of border guards' activities during the Great War, their heroism, dedication, and professionalism, which was honed even in peacetime. The analysis revealed factors confirming that Soviet border guards were not only representatives of the government but also actively participated in shaping the sociocultural environment in their areas of service. Moreover, the linear border protection system that existed during the Soviet era and the first decade of the post-Soviet era entailed a unified structure of border districts and their subdivisions. However, the regional diversity of our country (socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and geographic) necessitated diversifying the approaches used by border guards, both in the performance of their professional duties and in their interactions with the local population. With proper outreach, the local population was actively engaged in cooperation during peacetime, and during the Great Patriotic War, they participated alongside border guards in partisan and sabotage and reconnaissance operations.

The carbon emissions that cities contribute drive the development of low-carbon cities (LCCs) and low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policies. However, the lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the impacts of LCCP policies on natural population growth hampers effective policy design and implementation, thus constraining sustainable development at the city level. Extending the existing papers which focus on the relations between low-carbon pilot policies and industry transformation or economic growth, this research applies several experimental methods [e.g., Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Differences (PSM-DID)] to investigate the impacts of low-carbon pilot policies on natural population growth by applying the data from 287 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2019. This research found that low-carbon pilot policies would positively influence the low-carbon cities' natural population growth by influencing (a) economic factors, (b) political factors, (c) technological factors, and (d) the living environment. This research establishes a framework for understanding the impact mechanisms of LCCP on natural population growth. This paper investigates how industrial structure optimization, policy design and implementation in different regions, technological innovations, and urban green space theoretically affect natural population growth. This paper also proposed characteristics of LCCP which should be theoretically concerned by the government. From a practical perspective, this research suggests several policy recommendations. Central and local governments are encouraged to prioritize industrial structure optimization and assess populations' dependence on cultivated land. Providing additional policy support to underdeveloped areas is crucial to promote the balance between economic and environmental development. Furthermore, establishing online public health platforms and urban green spaces is proposed to enhance the population's health and complement the implementation of LCCP policies. This offers both theoretical and practical insights into the impacts of LCCP policies on natural population growth. Its findings contribute to designing and implementing LCCP policies in China and other developing countries at a similar development stage.

Specifics of demographic transitions in Ukraine after the country gained independence