Petrozavodsk in the project “100 Symbols of Karelia”: image construction and representation

The article aims to identify stable verbal-semantic formations associated with the Karelian capital in the materials of the project “100 Symbols of Karelia” in order to recreate the image of the city of Petrozavodsk. The relevance of the study stems from an attempt to understand the problems associated with constructing the image of the capital of Karelia in public space and the formation of a local identity, which will help identify promising areas for the development of Petrozavodsk. The city is viewed as a sociocultural construct created not only by the media but also by representatives of various segments of the regional community. Spatial identification and representation of the image of Petrozavodsk is shown to occupy a prominent place in the project. The image of the city conveyed through the project can be characterized as conventional. It is based on several key semiotic collisions and characteristics, such as “capital (regional center) / province”, “city / village”, “culture / nature”; as well as northern restraint in architectural solutions, intimacy, density of the communicative field, purity, “Europeanness”, in particular, the Finnish “flare”, etc. It is noted that in the project the image of the city is shown in its dynamics, and the contrast between the images of the city in the past and in the present is primarily built along the vectors of “industrial – cultural”, as well as “village – real modern city”. In connection with the task of territory branding, the project emphasizes the unique features of the city and its leading role in various fields. The conclusions outline specific prospects for developing an attractive image for Petrozavodsk, contributing to the development of its tourism potential, with an emphasis on Karelian and northern Russian flavors, as well as the popularization of new cultural spaces and the city’s “underside”. The logic of the city’s development also suggests the importance of promoting the image of Petrozavodsk as a scientific and educational center.