National identity phenomenon represented in the Volga Germans’ visual communication

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of the Volga Germans’ national identity which is represented in the visual communication in the context of historical realities in the period of the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX centuries. The symbolic space of preserved in Saratov Regional Local History Museum funds photos of propaganda posters, notes, streamers and labels’ patterns reflects not only the ethnical German traditional culture peculiarity but also marks famous historical events in the identified period. The comparative analysis of the elements and objects in the visual communication has led to the showing convergences both in their content and design. The semiotic method has revealed symbols and determined the semantics of the studied elements in the visual communication. The collected material has been divided into two groups, each of them having its clear explicit semantic load. The results obtained let us make virtual transfer into the ethnical German cultural space, set the geographical location and reconstruct some historical events typical of Russian Germans in the Volga Region. Preserved to this day not only the elements but also the objects of the visual communication are of historical value, fix ethnical German flavor, give an idea of the formation and representation of the Volga Germans’ identity. Preservation of the authenticity as well as biological survival was of the utter importance for the Russian Germans: the first settlers developed the wasteland in the adverse climate conditions, lived isolated, their dialects were the main means of communication; the Volga Germans equated themselves with the ethnical Germans inhabited their historical motherland - Germany. The concept idea of order typical of German ethnical culture ontologically with its value guidelines, traditions and customs is relevant in the present research.