Annotation of the results obtained in 2022
The research on the project was carried out simultaneously in two following directions: 1) conceptualization of “sacred history” and “historical memory” in late Antique and early Medieval sources. As far as the following research stages will consider Byzantine and Ancient Russian culture, we focused primarily on Greek-speaking authors, who had the greatest influence on the intellectual landscape of Medieval Byzantium. 2) Analysis of the phenomena of construction, deconstruction and re-construction of collective historical memory in Modernity was performed. The main finding here is that the collective memory during this period develops in a non-linear manner. A distinction is made between historical periods that are characterized by a linear progressive development (“filling”) of collective memory (and the corresponding processes of collective forgetting), and the periods of deliberate changes of the content, forms and ways of development of historical memory, which is accompanied by intentional forgetting of the former historical entities. Obtained scientific results: — a strategy has been developed for distinguishing the historical periods into those during which the content of collective historical memory changed naturally (in a linear manner), and those with an intentional inclusion of new (or previously forgotten) contents into the collective memory simultaneously with the deliberate oblivion of the former contents of collective memory. Usually such processes have accompanied major changes in social and political formations; — a study of the “sacred history” concept, the principles of the symbolic interpretation of historical events and, thereby, the re-actualization of historical memory was carried out. It was based on the works of Eusebius of Caesarea and Maximus the Confessor (the central authors of group A). The study will be continued using the works of later Byzantine authors up to Gregory Palamas (Group B); — the main authors of groups C and D were selected, and a study of the most relevant figures was started (see paragraph 1.3 above); — a study of manuscript collections reflecting the cultural memory of the Russian emigration, as well as a circle of people associated with Leo and Nikolay Gumilyovs. An in-depth interview of five people from this circle was conducted, and an analysis of the collected materials began; — a questionnaire was prepared to start the interview, which will be further used in the second stage of the project. The full and abbreviated versions have been preliminarily compiled. The full version of the questionnaire will be used for in-depth interviews with individuals selected for their proximity to significant historical events of the 20th century, while the abbreviated version will be used to collect shorter but more numerous interviews. During the course of the project: — 7 scientific articles have been prepared, 2 of them have already been published, 5 have been accepted for publication and will be published at the end of 2022 or during 2023. This number includes 4 articles that have been published (or accepted for publication) in journals indexed by Scopus/WoS, and 3 articles have been accepted into journals indexed by the RSCI; — 12 reports were presented at scientific conferences of the national or international level, including one held abroad; — two round tables were held, including reports of the project participants and further discussion of current problems and results. Round tables were held by Lyudmila Artamoshkina at the Leo Gumilev Museum. Recordings of the main reports are published in the VK blog of the Leo Gumilev Museum (https://vk.com/lngumilevmuseum, see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWhlt-6eczA&t=2173s) - a questionnaire was compiled and interviewing of respondents began in order to reconstruct the model of cultural memory in modern Russia. Five in-depth interviews were recorded with key informants who provided the broadest cross-section of the memory of Russian culture in the 1940s–1990s; the data obtained will be analyzed further along with the results of surveys of other respondents.

 

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Annotation of the results obtained in 2023
Based on the results of the second stage of the project in 2023: 1) the research team created a preliminary model of formation of historical and symbolic forms in early Byzantine thought (4th–7th centuries AD). Two basic types of symbolism in early Byzantine literature was introduced, and the corresponding ways of their application to the interpretation of historical narratives were studied. The historical narrative, starting from the 4th century, was considered as containing several layers, each of which could have its own symbolic interpretation; 2) the research team has continued the study of the Old Russian historical and symbolic tradition. The historical method and literary form set by Eusebius of Caesarea subsequently had an exceptional impact on Byzantine and Old Russian historiosophy and hagiography. The peculiarity of Old Russian thought is that the body of early Byzantine historical and hagiographic examples became a “matrix,” each reference to which could engage the Slavic narrative into the context of sacred Byzantine history. In addition, the lives of Russian saints use the language of genre topoi developed in Byzantine hagiography. Finally, it is important that specific historical events that fall into the hagiographic and historical literature of Ancient Rus’ are usually described in connection with proper historical figures. The symbolization of historical events in hagiographic literature is carried out through its integration into the image of a specific historical person; 3) philosophical and historical reflection of the 18th–19th centuries Russian thought was studied. The series of articles dedicated to Johann Georg Schwarz was published to reveal his view on the preservation and interpretation of the past. Publications in the journal “Bulletin of Europe” for 1802–1820s, their structure and selection principles were also examined. The conducted research revealed a constructive and creative attitude towards the historical past, which was perceived by the authors not as a set of facts, but also as material from which the argumentation and plot content of new philosophical narratives could be built; 4) the research of historical memory in the 20th – early 21st centuries is continued in the following respects: — domestic family archives of the first half of the 20th century were studied, particularly the archives of Leo Gumilyov family. Also, new archive materials were obtained, allowing to significantly expand the time coverage of the study; — studies have been conducted on the function of historical memory and related social and cultural phenomena in modern societies; — a sociological survey was completed in an electronic form; 446 questionnaires were collected. The major part of collected data is sorted and analyzed, some additional statistics will be analyzed in the third stage of the project; — the research team obtained an archive of questionnaires with answers to questions similar to those of the 2023 sociological survey. The archive covers period till 2015. At the third stage of the project, these data will be analyzed using the same algorithm as for the 2023 survey data. The research team plans to obtain a dynamic picture of the changing emphasis on the historical memory in the period 2010–2020. The sociological survey continues, the questionnaire can be accessed via the link: https://plato.spbu.ru/PROJECTS/Survey.php?ref=rep152 The results of the statistical analysis of the collected survey data are published at: https://plato.spbu.ru/PROJECTS/results/index.htm The data on this page will be updated as the data is further processed. General information about the project is published at the web page: https://plato.spbu.ru/PROJECTS/Memoria.html 5) the research team started the final synthesis of the collected materials, which is planned to be completed at the third stage of the project. Work is underway to test the applicability of the theoretical model of symbolization of historical narratives, formed on Byzantine material, to the materials of ancient Russian and Russian literature, as well as to the analysis of social and cultural phenomena of the late Soviet period and modern Russian society. Based on the results of the 2023 stage: — a sociological survey was conducted and 446 questionnaires were collected; collection of additional questionnaires and their analysis continues; — 13 reports were presented at conferences at the international and all-Russian level, presenting the results of the research; — 13 scientific articles have been published or accepted for publication in journal indexed by the Russian Science Citation Index, including 7 articles in journals indexed by Scopus or WoS.

 

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