The 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War: the Role of Historical Memory in the Patriotic Education in Dagestan

The article analyses the results of sociological studies of regional problems and practices of the patriotic education among the youth of the Republic of Dagestan and the role of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War in this matter. Based on the results of an expert survey conducted among the subjects of educational work with the youth of the republic, the author found that the main shortcomings of practices in the field of patriotic education in the republic are: the prevalence of formalism during patriotic events, the prevalence of conservative methods in working with young people, as well as poor consideration of the ethnocultural specifics of the region. A serious issue in the way of the improvement of this work is the external destructive information and ideological pressure on the youth in the republic, that in recent years has become systemic. It is aimed, first of all, at eroding Russian civil identity and cultivating religious intolerance in a mass conscience of the local youth. Despite the positive effect of the implementation of many all-Russian patriotic actions and projects in the republic, the experts note their insufficient and weak support for local and regional patriotism in educational work with young people, for instilling love for the small homeland through a careful attitude to native languages, culture and traditions of the peoples of Dagestan. The author's review of modern scientific literature on the problem of patriotism in Dagestan revealed that the main topic that mobilises patriotic feelings of the local population remains the theme of the Great Patriotic War, combining national and local meanings and values. It was revealed that most of the events dedicated to the celebration of the anniversary of the Great Victory in the republic were part of all-Russian memorial practices, that indicates good inclusion of the republic in federal projects to mobilise collective memory and patriotism. At the same time, results of the monitoring of the information field of the region on the eve of the celebration of the anniversary of Victory demonstrate that many actions and initiatives of local authorities on education of patriotism on the basis of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War remained unnoticed in the non-governmental segment of information resources of the republic. The public reacts positively to the initiatives of the authorities in the field of historical memory, that meet the requests of the population and expresses a negative attitude, if the authorities do not take into account the priorities and needs of society.