The past is an important resource that Russian politicians and businesspeople use to replace ideology, frame policies or earn money. The state attempts to control the use of history by outside actors, but similarly instrumentalizes it for its own purposes. However, in the last five years, alternative social actors (the Yeltsin Center, the Immortal Regiment, various Orthodox groups and others) have emerged within Russia to claim their right to control the past and challenge the state monopoly on memory. In this talk, Ivan Kurilla discussed different such actors to illustrate how memory operates in contemporary Russia.