Generational Memory and the Post-Soviet Welfare State: Institutionalizing the “Children of War” in Post-Soviet Russia

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Part of the Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies book series (PMMS)

Abstract

As the Soviet war veterans pass away, the next generation, those who experienced the war as children and adolescents, inevitably receive more public attention. This chapter addresses the growing prominence of the “children of war” in contemporary Russia and investigates how this generation is constructed at the crossroads of discourses on World War II memory and national identity, on moral values in the Russian society and on principles of social policy in a market economy. It analyzes bottom-up social initiatives and top-down strategies of the political elites in Russia aimed at the institutionalization of a special status for the “children of war.” The chapter also shows how the initiatives aimed at forging inter-generational solidarity and strengthening the public consensus on war memory often create new social hierarchies and lead to competition between different status groups.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)ViennaAustria

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