On the example of commemoration of various wars and key historical events, it is possible to reconstruct and comprehend the value orientations of states at certain phases of their deve-lopment. In this article, we propose to turn to the Crimean War of 1853–1856, which was reflected in the historical memory of the two participating countries – Russia and France. With such a comparative approach, attention is drawn to different levels of commemoration of this event: we are talking about scientific research on the Crimean campaign, about the people's memory of generations, about state and political practices. The authors analyze these aspects and identify which of them are most widespread in Russia and Europe, so that the memory of the Crimean War is preserved in modern society. The authors analyze the phenomenon of the “forgotten war” – a term that has entered the scientific lexicon of the French community and is used to describe the campaign of 1854–1856. The study of the problem makes it possible to answer an important question: why do certain traditions of memory exist, whether they help to form a certain consciousness, value attitudes. © 2021, RUDN UNiversity. All rights reserved.