Between Memory and Memorial: Contemporary Russian Memorial Culture and Spatiality

Abstract

Throughout the world people have been dealing with memories publicly for centuries. These memories often take the shape of monuments and memorials. Different from religious statues, these structures serve to commemorate victories in wars and to reflect on national trauma. Russia is not alien to this practice, with Moscow and surrounding cities featuring multitudes of these memories manifest. There are differences between these memorials when it comes to their place in the collective memories of Russia’s citizens. This paper will focus on this difference through the focal point of a recent memorial; In what way does the Wall of Grief memorial represent the cultural memory of present day Russia with regard to their own Soviet past?