RUSSIA AND FRANCE OF THE EPOCH OF NAPOLEONIC WARS IN THE COMMUNICATIVE MEMORY OF THE TWO NATIONS
The object of the given review is the monograph “Napoleonic Epoch in the Communicative Memory of Russia and France”. The monograph consists of an introduction, two chapters, list of sources and literature and an appendix. Chapter 1 is written by the linguist E.A. Nakhimova, the author of Chapter 2 is the historian A.A. Postnikova. The main problem investigated in the monograph is the character and degree of influence of various authorities and social discussions on the transformation of past images. The problem is considered mainly on the material of events of the Napoleonic Epoch which not only tied Russia and France for ever but for two centuries have been an inexhaustible source of allusions, reminiscences, semantic and semiotic “precedents” in all kinds of spheres of life, and first and foremost - in politics. In Chapter 1 titled “Napoleonic Epoch in the Mirror of Modern Russian Mass Media” E.A. Nakhimova concentrates on the analysis of usage of precedent names, situations and precedent utterances connected with Napoleon and the wars of the late 18th - early 19th centuries in the modern Russian mass communication. Chapter 2 titled “Napoleonic Epoch in the Communicative Memory of France” demonstrates a vast specter of possibilities of representation and usage of past images in modern political, social, cultural and intellectual discourse. A.A. Postnikova actively involves the methods of investigation of historical memory, historical politics and historical political discourse. The work carried out by the authors may serve as a beginning of further fruitful cooperation of representatives of two humanities - linguists and historians.