Debates on the USSR’s contribution to the victory over Nazism at the youth structures of the Council of Europe

The presented study is devoted to the debates on the contribution of the USSR to the victory over Nazism at the youth structures of the Council of Europe and to the role of those debates in the formation of national and state identity of the younger generation, including in the post-Soviet countries. Within the framework of such discussions, the researcher identifies the key narratives of the USSR’s contribution to the victory over Nazism at the youth structures of the Council of Europe. The relationship between the position of the speakers representing the youth and the discourse of the governing structures of the Council of Europe is being traced. The article presents an assessment of the impact of the memorial narratives of the Council of Europe on the mode of national and state identity of the youth (counting the post-Soviet countries). The author carries out research on the content of the Council of Europe’s World War II Memorial Policy and the contribution of the USSR to the victory over Nazism. The key mnemonic actors of the Council of Europe are identified. The structure of the image of the Soviet Union in the framework of the memorial narratives of the Council of Europe is studied. The practice of holding memorial events at the youth platforms of the Council of Europe is elucidated, taking into account the specifics of the methods and educational technologies used. The vector of building a memorial regime in relation to the role of the Soviet Union in the victory over Nazism is characterized.

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