ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of legend in the negotiation of memory regarding a holy spring in Western Siberia located on the site of a former Stalin-era prison camp. The Siberian region is known for being conservative politically. It has consistently supported the Communist party, voting against Putin and Medvedev in the last three national elections. The construction of the Cathedral of the Russian New Martyrs and Confessors near the holy spring in Lozhok began in 2006. The Cathedral of Russian New Martyrs and Confessors was completed in 2015. The legends about the spring allow the community to negotiate the complex intersection between memory, belief, and identity. The former socialist spaces across the globe are ripe for folkloric investigation of the intersection between ostensive action prompted by legends about a place, particularly a place of violence, and the memory of the past.
