Images of Russian Capitals in the Consciousness of Russians: Moscow vs Petersburg

Introduction. The study is devoted to analyzing the structure of the images of Moscow and St Petersburg in the linguistic consciousness of Russian speakers. The relevance of the research is determined by the importance of these cities for the cultural, historical, and social life of Russia, as well as their role in the development of domestic and international tourism. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time, the images of the Russian capitals are considered as hierarchically organized sets consisting not only of feature-based but also emotional components, which are compared in terms of their weight within the image structure. 

Methodology and sources. The methodological framework is based on cognitive and psycholinguistic approaches, within which the image is viewed as a form of mental representation. The theoretical foundation draws on ideas about image structure found in the works of A.V. Brushlinsky and E.A. Sergienko, F.E. Vasiluk, A.D. Leontiev, as well as R.W. Langacker, E. Rosch and others. The key method for studying the image is verbalization, which enables the identification of its cognitive characteristics. In the analysis of the field structure of the image, components of the core, near-core, middle, and peripheral zones are distinguished. The application of the proposed methodology allows for the exploration of the specific features of how cities are perceived within linguistic consciousness. The research material was obtained during a psycholinguistic experiment conducted through a questionnaire survey in April 2023 among 60 native Russian speakers residing in various regions of Russia. The participants provided verbal characterizations of Moscow and St Petersburg, highlighting key features and emotions associated with these cities.

Results and discussion. As a result of semantic and frequency analysis of the 687 responses collected, models of the images of Moscow and St Petersburg were constructed and compared. The comparison results revealed that the images of Moscow and St Petersburg differ significantly not only in the composition of components but also in their hierarchy: the image of Moscow is characterized by a predominance of objective components reflecting its scale and the opportunities it offers, while the image of St Petersburg demonstrates greater intensity of emotional and cultural-historical components. 

Conclusion. A study of the images of Moscow and St Petersburg using experimental material showed that the structure of the image is constructed on a multi-layered cognitive framework, including attributive and emotional components. The conclusions drawn provide a deeper understanding of how Russia’s capitals are perceived and can be used in the development of marketing and tourism promotion strategies for cities.

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