The problem of preserving historical memory in the context of modernity

Abstract

Purposeful or thoughtless distortion of historical events, falsification of their causes, course or consequences, are fraught with such a transformation of the collective ideas of society and its citizens about their past, which carry the real prospect of the collapse of their internal integrity and stability. Respect for all pages of our own history is, of course, by no means the only one, but at the same time one of the important guarantees of the survival of modern Russian society. The significance of historical memory to public consciousness and civic unity is hard to overstate. In this context, the resilience and vitality of, among other things, Russian society and its statehood depend to a large extent on citizens having an adequate understanding and decent attitude to the historical past of Russia and its peoples. This circumstance implies the need for purposeful activities of state bodies, civil society institutions and, of course, professional historians to preserve historical memory on the basis of respect for the heroic past of their own country, based on documentary and other reliable historical facts, as well as objective scientific data, taking into account the basic spiritual and moral values of Russian society. It should be remembered that history invariably remains one of the significant resources of the state-organized people, the devaluation of which inevitably leads to the undermining of their vital cultural foundations and achievements. It is necessary to state that history is indeed sometimes a field of fierce struggle, the reasons for which were obvious to Klyuchevsky, who said at one time that "a people without history is like a child without parents: anyone can do with him what he pleases." Against the background of the contradictions of the modern multipolar world, there is a clear desire to reformat the historical past - including through falsification of history, which includes a deliberately inaccurate presentation or subjective interpretation of historical events vital to the world.