Regional identity structure in the context of societal transformation

Changes currently taking place on the globe affect not only economics, politics, and interstate relations, but mainly affect the sphere of ideology, within which the problem of identity takes the leading position. The paper presents a model of regional identity structure, which includes four topoi, reflecting the dynamic process of identity formation under the influence of changes in the historical, cultural and social context of Russian societal development. Topoi are identified as a result of the analysis of dominant types of discourse that actualize regional identity. These topoi reveal images of the region's uniqueness in the natural environment, establish the national character traits of the region's indigenous population, embody the value systems that have defined and regulated the behavior of the population during different historical periods of the territory's development, and describe local traditions.