Memorial tourism as a component of memorial culture

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the memorial tourism as a component of memorial culture — promising direction of post-war tourism in Ukraine, to determine the reasons for its demand and the role it can play in current cultural situation. Memorial tourism is a new form of memorial activity: the creation of a “place of memory” for committed crimes (museumification of places of tragedies; opening of individual monuments; memorial complexes; museums; exhibitions dedicated to tragic events; creation of organized burials), etc.
 The methodology. In the research process, the methods of abstraction, analysis and synthesis were used in the historiographical study of the memorial tourism, empirical method was used for collecting and describing material about the first virtual museums of the Russian-Ukrainian war, content analysis and statistical method were used for comparing the content of popular Telegram news channels about the war with the exhibits of these museums.
 The results. The analysis of the literature showed that the phenomenon of memorial tourism has a global character. It becomes part of the global structure of contemporary mediating and tourism narratives of peace, reconciliation and sustainability paradigms. The paradigms of “shared memories” introduce a new vision of war memory as an alternative of the patriotic, aggressive and militarized approach. The authors note that the most expedient is the promotion of Ukraine on the international arena as a “place of memory” for the largest-scale destruction since the Second World War. This is the practice of the first virtual museums of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It currently corresponds to the content of acute cultural memory, represented in one of the most widespread Ukraininan media discourses. This approach will allow the state to popularize civic values, encourage active diplomacy, and stimulate tourism as a tool of economic development.
 The scientific novelty. Consideration of the relationship between the theory of memorial tourism and the first practices of museumification of the Russian-Ukrainian war and one of the leading Ukrainian media discourses of its coverage.
 The practical significance. The materials of this article can be used to develop programs or strategies for the development of memorial tourism in the war and post-war times in Ukraine.