Social space of the war in the psychological focus of the victory

The relevance of the research is determined by the society’s need to preserve and maintain Russian identity. It is crucial to understand the historical lessons of the war, to build a bridge between the present, the past, and the future, and to consolidate and broadcast the cultural codes of the victory. Purpose: to conduct a comparative analysis of the university student’s social perceptions of the war and victory, and to identify the semantic domains of the war and the victory. Hypothesis: there is a differentiation between students’ social ideas about the war and the victory and the introspected ideas of their parents and grandparents about these phenomena, which indicates the multilayer semantic domains of the collective memory. Participants: students (N = 52) of Saratov State University (Saratov); aged from 20 to 22 (M = 21.48; SD = 1.12), 88.5% of them being females. Methods (tools): to collect the data, a survey consisting of socio-demographic and socio-psychological blocks was conducted; the data analysis included content analysis and prototype analysis by P. Verges. Results: the structural components of the perceptions of the war and the victory have been described through retrospective reflection, and their semantic domains have been identified. Emotional, personal, and value aspects were emphasized, as well as normative practices. The study proves that the expression of the personal aspect in perceptions of the war decreases from grandparents to descendants, while in the perceptions of the victory it increases. Conclusions: the study reveals a high consistency of ideas about the war and the victory from the perspective of three generations: the war is positioned as a catastrophic mode of human existence, while the victory is viewed as a trigger of powerful emotions and hope for the future. The revealed differentiation in the introspected ideas about the war and the victory indicates the multilayer semantic domains of the collective memory. Practical significance lies in the potential use of the findings in the development of programs for strengthening the university students’ civic engagement and positive social identities.