The Relevance of Modern Municipal Heraldy of the Cities of the Republic of Crimea

Abstract

The article presents the results of a comprehensive sociological study aimed at studying the relevance of municipal heraldry in modern society. The sample covered 1807 respondents living in the cities of the Republic of Crimea. The assessment of the relevance of the symbolic images depicted on the heraldic books was carried out depending on the calculated relevance index. It is shown that the ratio of symbolic elements depicting natural and economic objects in the studied region is (53.9% to 46.1%). Symbolic elements are often obsolete. Most of the economic identity depicted on the coats of arms, which were reconstructed from their pre-revolutionary historical or Soviet prototypes, are associated with similar difficulties in interpretation. Thus, a total of 73.6% of symbolic elements bearing economic significance are outdated and only 26.4% display a modern identity. Therefore, 62.8% of respondents do not know the heraldic symbols of their settlements. As a result, it can be concluded that heraldry is not very informative, since the interpretation and perception of symbolic images without special knowledge is difficult, and, therefore, the potential for use is limited.