Common past: Russians named the most interesting epochs and events in history.
The Great Patriotic War, the reign of Peter the Great and the era of palace coups that followed his death, as well as the life of the Russian Empire of the 19th century, were among the top historical topics of most interest to Russians. This conclusion is contained in the results of a study conducted among visitors to the parks "Russia — My History". Among the specific events, the famous battles of the Second World War, the Baptism of Rus and the Battle of the Ice were most often mentioned. According to experts, such results are explained by the fact that Russians are now focusing on the heroic epochs that determined the fate of the country.
Which historical epochs are interesting to Russians
Russians who are interested in history are most interested in the themes of the Great Patriotic War, the reign of Peter the Great and the era of palace coups that began after his death, Ancient Rus, the Russian Empire of the 19th century, the revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. These are the results of a study conducted by the Weber sociological consulting agency among visitors to the historical parks "Russia is My Story" (Izvestia has it).
Among the specific events that attract their attention the most, the respondents named the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle for Moscow, the storming of Berlin, the Baptism of Rus, the Battle of Kulikovo and the Battle of the Ice.
"Among historical figures, Catherine the Great aroused the greatest interest — 45%, Ivan the Terrible — 37%, Alexander Suvorov — 32%, Alexander Nevsky — 26%, Prince Vladimir and Mikhail Kutuzov — 19% each," the study notes.
These data generally coincide with similar studies conducted a little earlier. For example, at the end of 2024, scientists from the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a study called The Arrow of Time, which aimed to study Russians' perception of their country's history. According to its results, the top five events were the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the reunification of Crimea with Russia, Yuri Gagarin's flight into space, the Baptism of Rus and the formation of the USSR. And the revolution of 1917 and the reign of Peter the Great were only in seventh and eighth places, respectively.
A special interest in the stories of prominent personalities and the life of the court during the Russian Empire was confirmed to Izvestia by the State Historical Museum. For example, they said that one of the most visited exhibitions of the complex was "Jewels! The Splendor of the Russian Court", which took place in 2024-2025. It was seen by more than 155 thousand people.
What caused the interest
A special interest in the Great Patriotic War is due to the fact that this topic is close to every Russian family, Ivan Yesin, director of the Association of Historical Parks "Russia — My Story" and a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, explained to Izvestia.
"Almost everyone has a relative who fought, worked in the rear, survived the blockade or occupation,— he stressed.
And the interest in the times of Ancient Russia, Epiphany, the Battle of Kulikovo and the Battle of the Ice is a return to the roots, the expert added.
— The baptism of Rus has become a civilizational choice. And the battles gave us the first heroes, whose names we learn in school. They reflect our cultural code, our way of life and our temperament," Ivan Yesin emphasized.
Interest in historical events is shaped by school and popular culture, and it is also influenced by the news agenda and anthropological visibility, he noted. A vivid act or hero is always more attractive than a description of complex socio-economic processes — personal stories win over abstractions.
Historically, Russians have prioritized tasks of national importance, which outwardly almost always resulted in overt or covert confrontation with the West, Vladimir Karacharovsky, head of the Laboratory for Comparative Analysis of the Development of post-socialist societies, associate professor at the Faculty of Economics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, commented on the results of such studies.
— It is enough to look at our modernity, in which once again the key theme is the existential confrontation with the West, and issues requiring dedication and heroism are being resolved again. And it is not surprising that Russians are again interested in not quiet epochs, but epochs in which the fate of the country was decided," he said.
In addition, the population is occupied by the history of Russia's formation as a great power. And in this process, according to the expert, the most significant are not the calm ones, but the heroic, sacrificial epochs.
To some extent, the interest in heroics is explained by the fact that it is precisely such events that are immortalized in Russian culture — in state holidays, monumental sculpture, literature and art, in school and university books, the expert emphasized.
This idea was developed by the historian, associate professor of the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State University Alexander Krushelnitsky.
—Educational and popular science literature, cinematography, TV series, and radio stories focus on these very eras and these very plots," he noted.
However, this does not negate people's interest in quieter times. For example, people often nostalgically recall the era of Leonid Brezhnev's rule, because it was then that the USSR reached the peak of its power, and many people (both belonging to Soviet generations and millennials) define this time as the "golden era" of the country that demonstrated the highest social standards, said Vladimir Karacharovsky.
In general, all modern research shows that the history of the country is one of the few subjects of national pride of Russians, which is among the most powerful and permanent, regardless of the changing agenda, the expert stated.
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