Soil and Soul

Originally published in 1998 in this book a number of stereotypes symbols and signs of Russia such as the double-headed eagle the star bread-and-salt troika the Orthodox cross etc. are presented as a consistent set of metaphors revealing a symbolic world made by and for the Russians in order to sustain and reinforce their group identity. The Russian language culture and history form the basic core of the symbolic archive or thesaurus of Russianness from which the necessary images symbols and signs of identification are provided to manifest connection with the sphere of Russian identity. Such symbolism may directly or obliquely refer either to the territory (soil) of Russia or to the ethnically specific traits of the Russian people (soul). Both soil and soul are emphatically personified in the symbolic image of Holy Russia - Mother Russia.