The Forgotten Golden Age: Yaroslav the Wise and "Yaroslav''s Rus" - Rethinking in the 19th - 20th centuries
Although nowadays Ukrainians, Russians, Rusins, and Belarusians have different national self-identification, the memory about Yaroslav the Wise is what unites the East Slavic heirs of "Yaroslav's Rus". The article retraces the formation of the basic narratives about Prince Yaroslav the Wise in Russian public opinion and historical consciousness. The authors have brought out the sources that influenced the formation of Prince Yaroslav's image and shown his position in the Russian collective memory among other national leaders. This objective required the analysis of the most mass sources of memory formation referring to Yaroslav the Wise, including educational texts, fiction, periodicals, essays, films, monumental sculpture, and special historical researches. The article shows how the social and political mandate influenced the formation of public opinion about Prince Yaroslav and gives the analytical forecast concerning the prospects for the further construction of the image in the public mind.