Exploring informal vexillgeographies: Flags, urban place names, and local identities in Minsk, Belarus

Abstract

Driven upon the theoretical frameworks of the recently outlined field of vexillgeography, the study of interconnections between flags, society, and space, and critical toponymy together with elements of regional identity studies, this article analyzes 310 informal flags of the official and vernacular regions of Minsk, created by Belarusians during the unprecedented nationwide protests in 2020. Applying the mixed methods approach, this study unveils that the toponymically motivated vexillgeographic projections of the political struggle emerged as the essential spatial attributes of local urban identity for the protesters' community. This article contributes to vexillgeography and critical toponymy, unpacking the potential novel research vein of the intertwined spatio-political relationships between flags and urban toponyms as the modalities of local urban identities forging.