Criminal Law Prohibitions in the Field of Protection of Historical Memory

Purpose. Modern societies are largely characterized by a cult of memory, which is normatively manifested in the consolidation of frames of historical memory in memorial legislation, which has not only a declarative but also a prohibitive character. The peculiarities of the protection of historical memory by criminal legal means in the context of the mnemonic legal regime prevailing in the country determine the intentionality of the official historical narrative. The purpose of the article is to study the intentionality and content of the protection of historical memory in the criminal legislation of Russia. Methodology: dialectics, legal anthropology, poststructuralism, instrumentalism. Conclusions. Russia is characterized by a patriotic mnemonic legal regime, which is characterized by an orientation towards the protection of historical memory from distortion, falsification and denial and counteracting the dissemination of destructive information and symbols. The most important instrument of memorial policy are criminal prohibitions. The prohibitions aim to overcome historical denialism and support, through criminal law, the official historical narrative, which explicates the collective ideas of society about key ideas, persons, events and symbols of the past, which have not only retrospective but also prospective significance for constitutional identity and ensuring national security. Scientific and practical relevance. The article presents a comprehensive study of criminal means of protecting historical memory and counteracting its distortion, falsification and denial. The current state of Russian criminal legislation demonstrates the shortcomings of the conceptualization of this activity and the need for a clearer definition of the general object of criminal protection, reducing the norms of protecting historical memory to one chapter.