The issue of possibility to use the conception "social trauma" in the legal science: the Russian and international experience

The article deals with the basic provisions of the theory of social trauma, actively developed by foreign representatives of sociological science. It is shown the issues of the history of the twentieth century, including world wars, were actualized at the turn of the past and present centuries. There are shown various options of the social traumas impact on society. The article focuses that the contemporary states develop a certain policy of memory, which is reflected in normative-legal acts. There has conducted a comparative analysis of the public response to the events of the First World War in Russia during the military activities, as well as at the present stage. The importance of the memorable acts in the construction of memory policy to over- come social traumas is revealed. The example of two world wars of the twentieth century shows how some traumatic events can be replaced by other social traumas. The laws of various European countries aimed at assessing the events of the Second World War and establishing the legal responsibility for denying the atrocities of the Nazis in general, and the Holocaust in particular, are analyzed. The article deals with the normative-legal acts of Russia, Germany and Poland, regulating the issues associated with the attitude to the events of the Second World War. The reasons of change of the attitude of society to the events of this historical period are revealed. The different role of the law, which can be one of the tools of both prevention and overcoming of social traumas, is identified.