The article considers the genesis, essence and perspectives of the sociological study of historical memory. The authors aim to reveal the principles of organization and development of historical memory and to define the methodological grounds for its study. To achieve this aim the article solves the following interrelated tasks: to reveal the essence of historical memory as the main component of so-cial consciousness; to explicate the prerequisites for formation of historical memory, and to identify factors of its today’s development; to define theoretical and methodological bases of the sociological study of historical memory. The article is based on the works of the researchers of historical memory: on the ideas of famous western scholars (J. Assmann, J. Rusen) and Russian researchers (Zh.T. Toschenko, L.P. Repina, V.E. Boykov). The article shows that the contemporary processes of globalization that determine the de-velopment of multiculturalism in the majority of the regions of the world require reliable grounds for preservation and development of peoples’ and individuals’ cultural identity. One of such grounds is his-torical memory as the historical experience reflected in individual and social consciousness, which deter-mined the key features of social dynamics. The authors identify the sources of formation and substantial transformation of historical memory: while in the 19 - early 20th centuries science and education where the main sources of historical memory, in the second half of the 20th century the influence of media tech-nologies and mass culture has significantly grown, which leads to the complexity of historical memory structure and growth of its variability, contributes to the destruction of its integrity and to the development of its various alternatives. The article claims that historical memory is an essential condition for preserva-tion and development of state and cultural sovereignty, a basis for the mature civil consciousness and patriot-ism. The authors point to the necessity of interdisciplinary studies that integrate methodological principles and theoretical findings of different social sciences and humanities.