The object of this research is images of the past, actualized in the festival practices of cultural-historical reconstruction. The subject of this research is the mechanisms of formation and strategies of representation of images of the past in the festivals of cultural-historical reconstruction. It is noted that the author views festival as the representative of the more general phenomenon –  cultural-historical reconstruction, an integral interpretation of which allows embracing the variety of nonacademic practices aimed at studying and most accurate reconstruction of the material and spiritual culture of the past, preservation, actualization, representation and conveyance of cultural-historical values. In the context of commemorative practices of reconstruction, arrangement and representation of images of the past is conducted “intentionally, collectively and adapted for stage”. Relevance of the selected topic is defined by the fact that the reenactment movement becomes an increasingly meaningful actor in commemorative space of modern Russia, which significantly affects the formation of consensual images of the past. From theoretical and methodological perspective, the conducted analysis is based on the conceptual approaches presented in the Russian historical-culturological research on imagery. Internet resources, such as websites and forums of reenactors, social networks, and online media, served as the empirical foundation for this research. In the course of preparation and execution of cultural-historical reconstructions, the author employed quantitative and qualitative methods, including of thorough overt observation. As a result of the conducted analysis, the author determines specificity of the mechanisms for creating authentic images of the past and strategies for revealing collective representations on the past in the festivals of cultural-historical reconstruction, which have a positive impact upon ordinary consciousness.

The relevance of this article is substantiated by the need for scientific comprehension of the versatile experience of commemorative activity of the communities united within the framework of the All-Russian Public Movement “Clubs of Historical Reconstruction of Russia”. The object of this research is the collective commemorations that accumulate various forms of culture-making memorial initiatives of the indicated movement. The subject is the transformation processes of commemorative practices of the reenactment movement in the context of network society. The goal is to determine the key vectors of transformation of commemorations of the cultural-historical reconstruction, which reflects fundamental changes in the modern memorial space in the context of network society. The author advances the opinion that major changes in the commemorative practices of reenactors are substantiated by the transition towards the project-network form of interaction with a wide circle of social actors, the cooperation with which is based on the mutually beneficial exchange of deficit resources. The novelty of this work lies in explication and empirical testing of the concept of “memorial management” ( terminology of Aleida Assmann) for articulation of the specificity of the current stage of transformation of commemorations of cultural-historical reconstructions in the context of project-network society. The new material on the public memorial initiatives in the network projects of reenactors is introduces into the scientific discourse, which allows concluding that the transformation of commemorations of cultural-historical reconstruction is a complex multi-vector process that reveals a range of multidirectional trends characteristic to the Russian memorial space. The fundamental changes in commemorative practices of reconstruction manifest in the expansion of their scientific, educational, and inclusive components.