Transformation of attitudes toward the history of the USSR in the regional press of the perestroika period

The policy of glasnost in the perestroika period served as an impetus for the transformation of the historical discourse adopted in the Soviet press. In addition to the revision of approaches to the country's pre-revolutionary past, the discussion centred on the so-called "white spots" in the history of the USSR. The aim of the paper is to trace the content and peculiarities of the transformation of attitudes towards Soviet history in the regional party and Komsomol press of the Kaliningrad region during the perestroika period. The study is based on the analysis of the total number of publications on historical issues in the main newspapers of the region in 1985-1991. - "Kaliningradskaya Pravda" and "Kaliningradsky Komsomolets". In the publications devoted to the history of the USSR before 1985, the main stages of Soviet history mentioned in the newspapers were identified. The list of the most significant historical figures, whose biography is reflected in the newspaper, was determined on the basis of the frequency dictionary. Special attention is paid to the issues of transformation of historical memory about the Soviet past. The newspapers were analysed using Max QDA 2020 content analysis software. Based on the frequency dictionary and expert analysis, a system of categories was developed: "stages of Soviet history", "subjects of the historical process", "political system of the USSR", "historical memory". The conclusions are drawn about the predominant preservation in the Kaliningrad press until the early 1990s of the previously accepted historical narrative with a fragmentary reference to the debatable historical topics of the glasnost era (the cult of personality, political repressions of the 1930s, the problem of reforming socialism).

content analysis, press, Kaliningrad Oblast, history of the USSR, historical memory, practices of commemoration, perestroika, Great Patriotic War, post-war reconstruction, revolution