Commemorative signs of the Soviet Peace Committee: symbols and typology (based on materials from the State Catalogue of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation)

The aim of the study is to create a typological classification of chest badges and commemorative medals of the Soviet Peace Committee (SPC) issued in the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. The work is aimed at identifying the main elements depicted on these artifacts and analyzing them in the context of the historical and cultural context. The study materials include chest badges, commemorative medals, and other phaleristic materials issued by SPC and its local committees. The bulk of the material was obtained through the analysis of the State Catalogue of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation; artifacts stored in more than twenty museums in Russia were used. The work uses systemic, analytical-synthetic, descriptive, and typological methods. The study identified and analyzed phaleristic materials related to the SPC award system, badges of ordinary members of the organization, as well as chest badges, the issue of which was timed to coincide with any important events or occasions related to the development of international cooperation and peace initiatives. The study established that the symbols of local peace committees were quite diverse and included, in addition to the all-Union palette of symbols, images that were identifiers of a particular region (for example, the Spasskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin for the Tatar ASSR, the Motherland Monument at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery for Leningrad, etc.). Local committees also issued commemorative signs dedicated to significant events of regional significance (e.g., sports events related to the struggle for peace). The findings of the study demonstrate the diversity of forms and semantics of the SPC commemorative signs. Two main typological groups were identified: commemorative signs of the all-Union SPC and of local committees. The first group includes membership badges, anniversary medals, badges with the SPC symbols in foreign languages, and badges dedicated to important events. The second group includes the signs of local committees reflecting regional specifics. The symbols of the signs include images of a bell, globe, dove of peace, olive branch, as well as national and regional symbols and brands. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the primary collection and systematization of data on the commemorative signs of SPC, which forms a methodological basis for further research in the field of semiotics of the Soviet era and the historical and cultural heritage of the international peacekeeping movement.