The role of the cultural landscape in the formation of the regional identity of the Staritsky Upper Volga region at the turn of the 19–20th centuries

Abstract

According to the information-axiological approach of Yu.A. Vedenin and M.E. Kuleshova, spiritual and intellectual values transmitted in the form of information from generation to generation play a signifcant role inthe formation of the cultural landscape. The comprehensive study and actualization of cultural heritage as part of the cultural landscape reveals the role of traditional culture values in the modern socio-cultural situation. There is a close connection between the cultural landscape and local self-awareness through recognizable and meaningful images, concepts and symbols. Associative meanings and meanings of the cultural landscape of the territory affect the socio-cultural potential of the local society, the identifcation of its place in the external environment. At the turn of the 19–20th centuries the inhabitants of the Staritsky region were actively engaged in research in the feld of local history, archiving, sought to preserve the local cultural heritage in collective practices, collecting, in publications in historical periodicals. Historical and cultural landscape served as inspiration for research of I.P. Krylov, A.N. Vershinsky, S.I. Pokrovsky, A.D. Ushakov. The clergy played a huge role in preserving regional culture. The clergy of the Staritsky Upper Volga region were members of the Tver Scientifc Archival Commission, subscribers of historical journals, collectors of local folklore and archivists. The old manors, being at a distance from the provincial center, and possessing a powerful cultural and historical potential, had a great influence on the culture of the county as a whole, their artistic values served as the core of the collection of the county museum.