Mythology of Russian Modernization
The article is devoted to the review of the international conference Mythology of Russian Modernization, held at the Institute of History and International Relations of the Southern Federal University on October 19-20, 2021. The choice of the conference theme is due to the active reproduction of mythologized notions of modernization not only in public spaces but also in historiography. The conference participants considered their task as identifying and deconstructing the mythologems in narratives on Russian modernization, with the aim of a clearer comprehension of the causes and essence of this historical process, the views and goals of its main actors, the nature and forms of society’s response to modernization projects and changes in the socio-economic, political and cultural spheres. The conference was held in a mixed format: 8 reports were presented online, 20 - offline. It was arranged as the sequence of the plenary session and six panels: “A myth of origins - origins of myth”, “Modernizing Russia in search of identity”, “The State as the demiurge of Russian modernization”, “Russian modernization in the mirror of social myth”, “The railway as the idol and bugaboo of modernization”. During the nal discussion, the conference participants highly appreciated the scienti c relevance of the reports and the content of their discussion and spoke in favor of continuing research on this issue in the format of an international network project.