Symbolic space of Kaliningrad text

This article is devoted to the space of the Kaliningrad text,which is viewed as a semantic manifestation of the Kaliningrad regional sub-culture. The entirety of cultural texts that was formed inKaliningrad exclave as a result of comprehending the local historic and social situation represents the formation of a local super-text. Suchphenomena are culture-oriented since they are formed around one or another core forming a maximum notional prescription (V. Toporov).Such core for Kaliningrad text was created through conceptualization and interaction with the foreign (German) history and culture by theRussian population of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad text is being created as a symbol of a cultural specialness, based on living at the border,at a junction of different eras, cultures, mentalities or symbols. The comprehension developed as a process of experiencing the abovementionedcultural specialness of Kaliningrad in both mass-culture and in scientific works as well as in art and literature. This paper is anattempt to identify the symbolic core of the Kaliningrad text. We analyzed a series of specific texts that emerged in an effort to create aportrait of the region, to capture its symbolic universe. Those specific texts included official symbols of Kaliningrad region, the draftanthem of the City of Kaliningrad (submitted to an official contest), the interfaces of Kaliningrad web-sites, souvenirs etc. AddressingKaliningrad symbols allows us to identify the semantics and the degree of their inclusion into the notional space of the Kaliningrad text.The above-mentioned official symbols are quite unique because of the rational procedure that is employed for their selection and approval.Nevertheless the legitimization and internalization of those symbols by the majority of Kaliningrad citizens very much depends on manyfactors, including the extent to which the approved symbols correspond to the basic archetype fundamentals of the existing regionalmentality. The conducted analysis of the symbolic space of the Kaliningrad text demonstrates that it has both sustained structure andsteady core. In general the principal official regional symbols appear to fit well into semiotic universe of the regional mass consciousness.We tend to a cautious conclusion that there is an emerging trend in both official symbols and mass consciousness to overcome the culturaland historic fault that has been so typical for the regional mentality since the establishing of the Kaliningrad region as a Russian territoryafter the World War II.

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