Historical memory of Russians under the influence of the current social-political conditions

Based on the data of a long-term sociological research, the article analyses the influence of the current socio-political conditions on the perception of historical periods and personalities by Russians. The author argues that despite the sympathies of contemporaries for some historical and socio-political achievements and attributes of the post-Soviet society, the Soviet period of the country's history is the main source of the components for a national myth. Even the most popular attributes of the national greatness of our times, such as military successes and the annexation of Crimea are way below the achievements of the Soviet period. It is noted that in the shortage of relevant examples of civil consolidation, Russians reminisce the period of Soviet economic stability, social order and solidarity. In the absence of a critical historical assessment and under the influence of both foreign political isolation and a decline in the living standard, many Russians being in a search for the grounds of national community idealize and mythologize the Soviet past.