Новые практики Дня Победы: макросоциологическое объяснение

Фольклор и антропология города. 2019. № 1-2. С. 206–229.

Titkov A. S.

New Victory Day’s celebration practices, mostly St. George’s ribbons and The Immortal
Regiment marches, are explained by dynamics of macrosociological variances.
Main structural elements of Victory Day celebrations during Soviet period were:
(1) distinctive role of veterans as the “carrier group” for festive scenario and values;
(2) combination of public rituals and family memory, patriotic solidarity and
commemoration of tragedy.
Generational dynamics, as well as difficulties in transmission of family history, leads to
decline of veterans’ active role in festive scenario.
Another effect of generational shift, that is important for understanding new Victory
Day rituals, is growing popularity of patriotic performative practices (flag-bearing, car
stickers, state symbols printed on clothing, etc.) mostly supported by young and middle
generations. Article examines new celebration practices in connection with emerging
structural problems: (a) sustaining the festive scenario in the absence of the “carrier
group”; (b) reconciling the desire to be involved in festive action with normative views
on veterans as “the only ones worthy” of playing active role in celebration: (c) combining
public celebration with commemoration of tragic “truth about war” in family memory.
New festive rituals are presented as a vernacular attempt to symbolically solve such
structural collisions and to reconcile public festive with family memory, emotional
involvement in celebration with moral constraints for “unworthy” younger generations.
Public controversies over new celebration practices and opinion poll data are used to
estimate how well they solve structural problems.
Opinion polls conducted by leading Russian polling companies WCIOM, Levada Center
and FOM in 2006–2018 have provided the empirical basis for the research.

Keywords: performative proof, commemoration, коммеморация, День победы, Victory Day, перформативные практики