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What factors prevent or facilitate the expression of memories of warfare? What has led some veterans to adopt a critical view of official narratives about the Chechen Wars or about the military institution, whereas the discourse of other veterans complies with this narrative? While Russian veterans’ memories are marked by the historical, political and social context, their ideas about the past also have a place in their biographical trajectories and ruptures, which depend on the individual’s socialization. The individual’s occupational environment and family along with veteran groups all have an important part in the framing and expressing of memories of warfare.