The Reform Turning Great: The Abolition of Serfdom as a "Place of Memory" in Historical Culture of Imperial Russia

The article touches upon different representations of the peasant reform of 1861 in historical memory of Russian society. Chronologically it embraces the beginning of the 20th century, and among the sources are monuments, scholarly works on Russian history, popular editions written for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reform (including the famous six-volume "The Great Reform" published by Ivan Sytin). The author compares conceptual positions, discursive strategies, and visuals of the editions, and reveals "memory conflicts" over the abolition of serfdom as well as the outlines of possible consensus in post-reform Russian society on the issue.