Memorial reality and the mechanisms of its formation in the “general’s”, “lieutenant’s” and “soldier’s” prose of the authors - participants of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (G. K. Zhukov “Memories and reflections”, V. P. Nekrasov “In the trenches of Stalingrad”, V. P. Astafyev “Cursed and killed”)

This article examines the transformation of the ideal of objectivity imposed on historical artistic and memorial works into a commemorative reality. The memoirs of Georgy Zhukov “Memories and Reflections”, the story of Viktor Nekrasov “In the Trenches of Stalingrad” and the novel by Viktor Astafyev “Cursed and Killed” were selected for in-depth analysis, justified by their living memory of the Second World War as direct participants. These works represent prose from “a general”, “a lieutenant” and “a soldier”. The historical-political and socio-psychological analysis of the works is carried out using such parameters as the political situation during the writing, including the relations “writer - power - state”; the status of the writer in the war and his outlook on current events; images of positive and negative heroes; and the stated claim to objectivity in presenting historical truth. The study concludes that each of the works is a part of historical knowledge, and their assessment for compliance with abstract historical truth is incorrect. The analytical parameters help to understand the reasons for the emergence of precisely this “truth”, and determine its relevance for the current moment.