Larin G.V.

Soviet officers’ memories and daily life during the Great Patriotic War (reconstruction attempt based on obscure archival documents). Pp. 65–73.

 

UDC 94(47).084.8

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2026.90.1.006

 

Abstract. The training of officer personnel for the Armed Forces is a key element of a state’s military personnel policy. During the Great Patriotic War, especially in its first and second stages, the issue of staffing Red Army units and formations with junior officers was particularly vital. The main source of trained personnel was military educational institutions. From 1941 to 1945, seven military schools were stationed in the Ryazan Region.

In this article, based on the analysis of an archival document first introduced into scientific circulation, the author reconstructs a fragment of the specific daily practice of a closed professional group. This allows us to feel the atmosphere of that time, correlate the events of the Great Patriotic War with current domestic political and geopolitical processes, and provides a more specific understanding of the problems of the formation of Russian patriotism, historical memory, and national identity.

 

Keywords: Great Patriotic War, Ryazan Region, Ryazan, military school, historical memory, everyday life, national and civic identity.

 

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