I will talk about the role of local public libraries in shaping collective memory of the Great Patriotic War (GPW) in Russia today. Focusing on the Murmansk oblast and particularly on the Pechenga region, I will explore how librarians act as mediators of central narratives about the GPW within contemporary Russian communities. I am particularly interested in their interpretation of three categories: patriotism, kraevedenie ('local knowledge') and objectivity. My work also analyzes the emotional dimensions of memory and their interplay with notions of representation of historical knowledge. While operating within centrally crafted narratives of the GPW, librarians also draw on local history and heroic episodes through an emotional lens, creating a performative space aimed at sustaining and reinforcing patriotic sentiment.
