Immanuel Kant in the cultural memory of Kaliningrad residents (post-Soviet period)
- DOI
- 10.5922/sikbfu-2023-4-8
- Pages
- 83-95
Abstract
The key commemorative practices associated with the name of I. Kant in the Kaliningrad region during the post-Soviet period have been examined in the article. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, due to the growing interest in the pre-war history of the region, there was an expansion of the landscape of “places of memory” related to and associated with Kant. This resulted in the establishment of the philosopher’s image in the cultural memory of the residents of Kaliningrad as a “local” historical figure. The main events of this period were the installation of the Kant monument, the restoration of the Cathedral (near the walls of which the philosopher’s tomb is located), and the inclusion of Kant’s name in the university’s title. Today, according to the results of mass sociological surveys, Kant remains an undisputed leader on the list of historically significant figures associated with the region. His name has firmly established itself as a tourist and marketing brand of the Kaliningrad region. Despite the integration of Kant’s image into the cultural memory of Kaliningrad residents, it retains a conflicting potential: there is a layer of “activists” in the region who perceive Kant as a foreign symbol, leading to “memorial clashes.”