Vendina Olga

Where’s the capital of the South of Russia?

Two largest towns of the South of Russia – Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar – are objects of authors’ research. Projects on reinforcement of their influence beyond the pale of borders of regions, led by them, are examined in the article. O. Vendina and V. Kolosov analyse position shift of main South centers in the hierarchy of Russian towns, show advantages of both regional capitals. The authors also undertake comparative analysis of factors of strengthening of interregional influence of these towns: their location within transport networks, their innovation and cultural potential, as well as administrative and image resources.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2004-33-2-52-77

Pages: 52-77

Moscow and Petersburg. The story of the history of the rivalry between the Russian capitals

The rivalry of the two Russian capitals is studied in the light of everyday and sacral myths that shaped their images. The author comes to the conclusion that the loss/acquisition of the capital status in both cases led to the inversion of the myths and their semantic re-coding. However, the main structural elements of the ideas about the actual capital and the former capital were repeated. What was different is the content of these structures in relation to the specifics of a historical period. The conflict between the capitals has both cultural and geopolitical roots. The former stem from the images of the “new” and the “old” capitals structured as an opposition expressed in the clash between the “spirituality” and the “mercantilism.” The latter can be explained by the poor development of the system of Russian cities. According to O. Vendina, this predetermines the everlasting competition between the two main hubs of political, economic and cultural influence in the country.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2002-26-3-13-28

Pages: 13-28

Youri Luzhkov: Political Leader’s Image

The authors concentrate their attention on the electoral campaign of the key politician of the post-soviet period - Youri Luzkov. They try to generalize the results of using political technologies aimed at the creation or changing the image of a politician. The arguments and the counter-arguments used in the struggle and how they are related to the public ideas of the «good» and the «bad» national leader are analyzed. The analysis was done on the basis of numerous publications (more then 200 articles) of 1998 - 1999. According to the authors, the instability and the exposure to the variations in electors’ opinion characterize the current political situation in Russian. This is caused by the loose articulation of the political interests of different social groups, and gives the room for manipulating the public consciousness with the help of Mass Media and for replacing the real picture of the world with the set of mythological ideas and symbols.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2001-21-3-45-70

Pages: 45-70

Moscow – the Image of a City not Looking Like a Portrait

The article analyzes the m echanisms of the formation of the image of a city and the peculiarities of its perception. The author uses the instruments of political science as well as sociology, psychology and geography. The evolution of the image of a city is retraced comparing the three periods of time: 1930-1985, 1985-1991 and the period after 1992. The transformation processes in Moscow take place under the tough pressure of the time factor, as a result, several development stages overlap. However, the new socio-economic requirements and realities just cover the old ones without replacing them.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2001-21-3-71-93

Pages: 71-93