Abstract: The myth of the founding of Lipetsk includes a narrative related to the development of the southern borders of Russia and the development of metallurgy. But the 23-fold increase in the population of Lipetsk during the entire 65 years of the XX century (from 21.4 thousand people in 1926 to 490.3 thousand people in 1990) makes us turn back to the Soviet period of the city's history. Having considered the modes of circulation of "soft" and "hard" memory, as well as using the optics of different scales formulated by E. Rigni and C. de Cesare and the intuitions of J. Assman, who identified the communicative and cultural areas of memory, the author checks whether Lipetsk today pays due tribute to the Soviet past. The appeal to the key markers of Lipetsk's identity (metallurgical plant, mineral water, aviation center) related to cultural memory showed that today many residents of the city do not have a sense of continuity with the past. It is concluded that the post-war period of the USSR is a particularly significant memory space around which the identity of the Lipchans could be built, the memory of the local community could be formed. However, today Lipetsk residents have to face a completely different memorial policy initiated by local authorities, in which the Soviet past is gradually being replaced by new symbolic practices and objects, as a result of which the urban space is becoming more and more eclectic.

Abstract: This article is dedicated to examination of the dynamic aspect and mythological dimension of social memory. The structure of the latter distinguishes the two levels – “archaic” and ”conjunctural”. The “archaic” level plays a determinant role for the current functionality of mythology , including the mythology of family memory, which is interrelated with such spheres of everyday life as life, work, and recreation). The transformation of family mythology is viewed on the example of manifestation of myth-containing phenomena, such as the sacred leader (hero) and the victim, in everyday life. The following changes are indicated: the representations on causality and ratio between the part and the whole are imparted sacred meaning, while the representations on space and time are being rationalized. The systematic approach was applied towards studying the mythology of family memory. The theoretical conclusions are reinforced by the results of analysis of a series of narrative interviews conducted among the residents of Lipetsk Region about the history of their families. It is established that the basic (constitutive) events for the mythology of family memory indicate more abstract and profound phenomena (for example, hero or victim) than for the social memory. Special work is required for identification of these phenomena and further reconstruction of the mythology of family memory in each particular case. Special attention is given to observations of one of the respondents on the miracle as the phenomenon immanently inherent in life.