Route “Roads of Memory”: Resource of the Commemorative Practice on the Places of Hostilities on the Territory of Russia and Belarus (1941–1945)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the description of the implementation of the route “Roads of Memory” as a format of historical “immersion” in the research material that contributes to the reconstruction of social memory about the events of the Great Patriotic War, the phenomenon of human losses during the War, the formation of the meaning of this phenomenon and the veneration of humanistic value. This commemorative practice turned out to be extremely understandable and successful in the format of research objectives of the archival search team. In July 2019, a group of students with a professor, in connection with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Byelorussian SSR territory from the invaders, went to the Republic of Belarus in order to visit the brotherly burials where the remains of Siberians rest. The commemoration was called “Roads of Memory” and covered the route from Novosibirsk through Moscow to Smolensk – Roslavl – Minsk – Vitebsk. The participants visited the burial sites of Red Army soldiers who died in battles during the Great Patriotic War or in concentration camps. The study used a set of complementary methods that contribute both to the effectiveness of the search and to the professional promotion of the participants of the archival search team. The narration of the events described by the route “Roads of Memory” is a combination of a diary essay and storytelling, in the tradition of the narrative approach.