The memory of crimes in which not external forces are to blame, but your own state, is not accidentally called the "difficult past." Recognizing your own responsibility, without shifting it to external or internal enemies, time and circumstances, is incredibly difficult both psychologically, politically, and legally. Only at first glance it seems that there are many examples of such a voluntary rethinking, and Russia is the only country of its kind that cannot cope with its past. In fact, says N. Epple, a researcher of memorial culture, when it comes to the direct successors of criminals and living political reality, there are still no such precedents. Even a purely exemplary example of Germany, in his opinion, cannot be considered an unconditional success. The book is devoted to comparing the domestic study of the past with the experience of other countries - Germany, Spain, Argentina, Poland, South Africa, Japan - in order to outline the general principles of such work for successfully overcoming collective trauma and achieving civil peace in Russia.