“The War Will Live for a Long Tme”: The Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 in the Memory of the “Children of Victory”

The article addresses the uniqueness of the generational links among those born in the USSR and in the Russian Federation over the 80 years since the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. It highlights the vital importance, for preserving both family and nationwide memory of the war, of the so-called “children of Victory,” who came into the world in the first 10– 15 years after the war. Their role is examined in the formation and various forms of continuity of the historical and cultural memory of subsequent Soviet and post-Soviet generations, which have lived through dramatic upheavals. Attention is given to the assessment of teachers’ personalities, the involvement of older family members, and new forms that foster and document oral and written autobiographical narratives about the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. As one of the layers of contemporary non-folklore prose, these childhood recollections of turbulent and pivotal periods in society’s life are now attracting the professional interest of specialists from various fields. They may prove valuable as a source for researchers — historians, folklorists, ethnographers, social psychologists, and others.