Sevastopol’s two hundred year anniversary celebration in the context of memory policy

Abstract

The events associated with the two hundred year anniversary of the founding of Sevastopol in
1983 are studied in this article. The author analyzes images of Sevastopol captured in monuments,
books, films, and plays, as well as the awarding of the Order of the October Revolution to the city.
This research highlights the targeted memory policy of the authorities in the late USSR. During the
celebration of this anniversary, ideologically colored discourses were designed and broadcast to serve
as the basis for the myth of the Soviet era. Such myths have formed a collective representation for
many Soviet people about the past of Sevastopol. Two hundred year anniversary celebration of the
city underlined the Soviet image of Sevastopol which associated with the events of the Revolution of
1917, the Great Patriotic War and the “socialist construction” after the war. For the first time authorities
have started to pay attention to the history of the city in the XVIII century and such figures as
F. F. Ushakov and A. V. Suvorov. However, at the same time such names as Catherine II, G. A. Potemkin,
F. A. Klokachev, F. F. Mackenzi and D. N. Senyavin as the individuals who were involved
in the founding of Sevastopol were not widespread.