Most of research in the area of memory studies is devoted to the modern society. There are relatively few academic works studying the cultural memory of previous eras, such as those of Jan Assmann and Jacques Le Goff. The greatest difficulties in studying memory at the past times are caused by the objective deficiency of sources, including the inability to conduct mass surveys, which are one of the main Research Methods for Memory Studies.
However, in rare cases, researchers are lucky. Such a success is the discovery of archival materials containing the results of polls conducted in Russia in 1724 and 1760s. They were organized by the Heralds' Office, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Land Noble Cadet Corps in order to create the geographical and historical description of Russian Empire. The questionnaires were sent to all provincial cities, their respondents were employees of city offices throughout the country. So nowadays the answers from more than 100 cities for 1720s and 1760s are stored in Russian archives.
Analysis of these materials using the methodology of Memory Studies makes it possible to reveal the peculiarities of preserving the memory of past in local communities of the 18th century Russia. Some of the results of this analysis will be presented in this report.
Of the 30 questions in the questionnaires the most interesting are: "When and for what purpose was your city built?", "Was it ever besieged or defended from enemies?","Are there any antient buildings and temples in your city and when were they built?","Are there any antient ruins in your city and what legends are associated with them?".
Received answered allow us to approve that although the initiators and the respondents of the surveys were secular authorities the key role in preserving the memory in the 18th century Russia still belonged to the Church. The memory of the origin of local shrines, the foundation of temples and monasteries was preserved much better than the memory of secular history. Among the Russian rulers, the founders of the cathedrals and the Holy princes were best remembered. The memory of wars, even relatively recent ones, was often forgotten or transmitted mainly through oral traditions and stories of old-timers. Written records were available only in a small number of cities, many of them were lost due to frequent fires in the archives. The memory of military clashes was also preserved through stories of miracles of saints (including miraculous rescues from enemies) and the construction of memorial temples. Thus, we can draw a conclusion about the crucial role of the Church in preserving the memory of past events in local communities in 18th century Russia.
Working with archival materials seems promising for further memory studying.
