The Heroic Myth of Commemorative Legislation

The paper presents the author’s conception of the role of the heroic myth of commemorative legislation in constructing frames of historical memory in Russia. On the basis of a comprehensive philosophical and legal study of Russian legislation, the author concludes that the normatively articulated heroic myth has a dichotomous legal nature. On the one hand, it makes explicit collective representations of the heroic past. On the other hand, it is intended to construct frames of historical memory necessary to sustain civic identity and national security. Accordingly, considerable attention is devoted to the principles governing the selection of historical figures to be memorialized, which are determined by the value orientations of the political elite, the external manifestation of which is found in strategic planning acts. Inclusion in the historical martyrology, understood by the author as the list of key historical figures identified in the text of commemorative laws as objects of commemoration and glorification, is limited to persons who performed a military and/or labor feat in the interests of society as a whole. At the same time, memorialization extends not only to specifically named individuals but also to certain social groups whose actions were heroic in character and contributed to the protection of national security in the past. The inclusion of the name of a historical figure or of a non-personified mnemonic nominative in the text of a normative legal act performs a number of interrelated functions: memorialization of the historical figure, constitution of the image of the historical figure, construction of a space of memory, educational and organizational functions, maintenance of civic identity, and the safeguarding of national security. Through specific examples, the author demonstrates that the heroic myth articulated in memorial legislation is of great significance for maintaining national security and civic identity in Russia.

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