Problem of constructing urban identity by the method of mythologization through the example of the city of Ulyanovsk

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of constructing urban identity with the help of mythologization based on the analysis of the urban identity of the city of Ulyanovsk. The theoretical basis of the research was the paradigms of social constructivism and social myth-making. The article notes that there are resources in Ulyanovsk for the formation of an urban identity, which is a problem, in particular, some experts say there is no such thing. Repeated attempts to rebrand the city by the city authorities and cultural figures of Ulyanovsk have not led to substantial results. The applied part of the research in the article is devoted to the search for an answer to the question: does mythologization, as the universal and most psychologically and culturally organic way of constructing urban identity, reveal common essential components of the actual urban identity of Ulyanovsk? To study the problem posed, the author choses the method of a focus group with a sample limited to students and young specialists. The measurement of urban identity, constructed by the method of mythologization, was carried out by identifying the presence of common (similar) ideas among the residents of the city in terms of the parameters of the city's space, city time, the opposition of "we — they"; mythologem and ritual practice. The article concludes that mythologization is the most visual way of constructing urban identity; that mythologization "from above" is then effective as a way of constructing urban identity when this process correlates with already established mythologems in the mass consciousness; that the urban identity of Ulyanovsk exists, but among young residents of Ulyanovsk as a whole is very poorly expressed, while among young residents of Ulyanovsk who receive or have received education in the field of culture, the urban identity is more formalized, conscious and influenced by the actors of construction.