The changing geo-cultural space of the CIS countries in the 20-21st centuries (on the material of renaming cities)

Abstract

The article deals with the main cultural and geographical approaches to the study of renaming — critical-toponymic, palimpsest, geoconceptual. From the position of conceptualization of space, a typology of renaming geographical objects is proposed. Among the main motives for renaming are the following: status, national renaming, de-Sovietization and de-Russification of space, “new Russification” of space. On the basis of a large amount of factual material, the changes in the geocultural space of the Neighboring countries are investigated. At the same time, there are 3 groups of countries: countries with a transformed geocultural space, where renaming affected more than half of the studied objects, countries with a changed cultural and geographical space, where renaming covers from 25 to 50 % of the cities considered, and countries with a slightly changed geocultural space (renaming covers less than a quarter of the studied objects). A significant group of countries of the Near Abroad (Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, South Ossetia) belongs to the countries with a transformed cultural space. These countries are characterized by the processes of revolutionary attitude to the Soviet heritage (with the exception of Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and active cultural and linguistic innovations. Two countries of the Near Abroad (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) belong to the countries with a changed cultural space. A significant group of countries in the Near Abroad belongs to countries with poorly modified cultural space (renaming covers less than a quarter of the studied objects). These are Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan. Some of these countries are characterized by a low rate of cultural and linguistic innovation. Others — the Baltic states, Armenia, and Georgia-experienced waves of renaming much earlier, in pre-Soviet or Soviet times.