Cult and memorial sites in rural landscapes of Western Siberia: correlation and collective memory issues

Based on the approaches developed in the Cultural Landscape Studies, as well as field materials collected in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Western Siberia, the article discusses traditional and modern models of rural areas living space organizing. The substantiation of the invariant structure of rural cultural landscapes is provided, which includes a system of settlements, economic and fishing grounds, as well as religious sites. It is shown that the emergence of the Siberian landscapes sacral infrastructure at the early stages of the region development meant the creation of a folk religious network based on the Slavic traditions of venerating sacred places and natural objects that served as an embodiment of cultural memory and local identity of the local population. It was noted that the formation of a new symbolic space, which took place through the creation of memorial sites for the fighters for the Soviet power, transformed the role of traditional sacral centers of rural settlements, since their functions were partially transferred to new memorial complexes. The mass graves of the Civil War participants, as well as memorials to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War organically fit into the structure of modern rural landscapes. Special attention is paid to the problem of peasant uprisings commemorations of the early 1920s, which were recently named the Siberian Vendée in scientific and publicistic discourse. The reasons for the prolonged silence about the facts of the rural armed struggle against the Bolsheviks policy are analyzed. Examples of the “folk memory places” are given, including the history of one of the most revered shrines of the Altai Territory, that is the holy key, which has incorporated the features of both cult and memorial sites.