The Soviet past images in the structure of modern city cultural code Images of the Soviet past in the city’s cultural code
DOI: 10.23951/2312-7899-2026-2-43-71
The article explores one of the new trends in urban and cultural studies related to the research of the city’s cultural code. In addition to providing a theoretical basis for this phenomenon, the article presents the author’s approach to identifying images of the Soviet past in the modern Russian city structure. The article considers the city’s cultural code as a relatively stable system of city meanings in the form of images, concepts, and symbols, combining different urban iconic systems (nature, history, architecture) and allowing us to comprehend and decipher the city in its wholeness, to understand its uniqueness and its difference from other cities. Based on extensive empirical material obtained through interviews with citizens of Veliky Novgorod and Saint Petersburg, the dominant images of the Soviet past in the representations of residents of these historical cities have been identified. As the study shows, images of the Soviet past occupy a significant place in the structure of the modern Russian city’s cultural code. They are a source of positive associations, as they contain a powerful layer of memory that is valuable to residents. The images of the Soviet past are firmly integrated into places of memory, the city’s visual appearance and spatial features, and commemorative practices. They store and broadcast a close connection with famous personalities, especially the heroes and events of the Great Patriotic War. In this regard, the value of different layers of the city’s cultural memory—including images formed around the Soviet past, which can influence urban identity and the formation of local patriotism through citizens’ emotional involvement with the city—should be taken into account in modern city development strategies.
Keywords: city, cultural code, Soviet past, Soviet era, image of the city, urban identity, cultural memory of the city
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Issue: 2, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: ARTICLES
Pages: 43 — 71
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