CULTURAL EVOLUTION OF MILITARY SYMBOLS AT THE TURN OF THE XX AND XXI CENTURIES

Kalinin Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich

The article examines the cultural evolution of military symbols at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries. The author draws on a semiotic and symbolically interactionist theoretical framework and analyzes a body of poetic texts (including works by A.A. Akhmatova, B. Ryzhy and the phenomenon of Z poetry), historical and documentary information about heraldry and phaleronymy, as well as specialized literature on military culture. Methodologically, the work combines close reading and textual (discursive) analysis, a comparative historical method for tracing the transformations of symbols under the influence of ideological doctrines and military conflicts, a semiotic analysis of symbolic meanings and archetypal motifs, as well as a thematic comparison of poetic representations with official symbols. Based on quotations and illustrative examples, the transition from epic, collectively legitimizing military images to chamber-like, psychologized and individualized symbols of war is demonstrated while preserving deep archetypal pillars (home, mother, native land), it is shown how symbols serve as a tool for shaping identity and legitimizing power, and how modern conflicts generate new symbolic constructions (including the symbol “Z”), conclusions are drawn about the dialectical nature of the transformation of military symbolism and its role in national identity.

Keywords:cultural evolution, military symbols, poetic discourse, semiotics, national identity, collective consciousness, archetypal images, historical memory, symbolic transformation, spiritual dimensions