Transformation of the Concepts of “Earlier Times” and “Present Times” in People’s Memory (Based On „Oral History”) .......... 307

TRANSFORMATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF “EARLIER TIMES” AND “PRESENT TIMES” IN PEOPLE’S MEMORY (BASED ON „ORAL HISTORY”)

The article is devoted to the concepts of “earlier times” and “present times” in people’s memory. The research is based on the materials of the oral history. The direct answers to questions specially prepared for this study, memories of the ideas of fathers and grandfathers (oral and recorded) and the unintended use of these concepts in any reasoning and memories are taken into account. All respondents are divided into four groups: 1. “we” is a generation of post-war years of birth until the middle of the 70s, 2. “our fathers” are the generation of 1920s and 40s of birth, 3. “our children” are people younger 1975 birth, 4. “our grandfathers” – people born before the revolution. The article revealed that the main boundary line for the first and partially the second group was the collapse of the Soviet Union, for the second and fourth groups – the Great Patriotic War, the third group is dominated by personal motives (childhood, youth, university studies, etc.). Other answers are also analyzed. The study also revealed that in their “earlier times” people dreamed about the future, nowadays people are mostly afraid of the future and do not want to know anything about it. In general, the study allowed to capture the mentality of the epoch in connection with the perception of time in people’s memory.