The article defines approaches to researching the urban symbolic policy by the innovation theory. Spatial diffusion of geopolitical concepts “Neo-Eurasianism” and “Pan-Turkism” as geopolitical innovations of relevance to the Russian Federation is considered. Following the innovation development since idea’s inception, its formalization into a geopolitical concept through to the phase of political conflict and its termination, the authors analyze various urban forms (toponymy, onomastics, iconography, and urban events) linked to names of iconic figures for Neo-Eurasianism (Lev Gumilev) and Pan-Turkism (Ismail Gasprinsky, etc). In the research, the authors fix and describe the usage of urban symbolism by various actors: from municipal and regional authorities to federal and international public and political institutions. The innovation diffusion theory, which is widely applied in domestic and foreign socio-geographical studies, was showed to have heuristic value for studying the spread of geopolitical ideas and concepts. Analysis of data enables to state that urban symbolic policy can produce political space resources for phasing development of geopolitical innovations and their spatial diffusion to be deduced. The authors, observing the installation aspects of monuments to Lev Gumilev, Ismail Gasprinsky, and Zeki Velidi Togan, illustrate the symbolization of Russian public figures and struggle with it as processes of forming and destruction of resources for the development of geopolitical innovation in Russia. Having analyzed the geopolitical innovation processes in Russia, the authors emphasize the following key features of geopolitical innovation: migration process of innovation cores; hierarchical or cascade type of indirect diffusion; “peripheral innovativeness;” “privatization of an innovation by the closest center;” emergence of “network cores” of innovation.
Translated title of the contributionURBAN FORMS OF SPATIAL DIFFUSION OF GEOPOLITICAL INNOVATIONS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Original languageRussian
Pages (from-to)870-887
Number of pages18
JournalИЗВЕСТИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ АКАДЕМИИ НАУК. СЕРИЯ ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКАЯ
Volume85
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

    Scopus subject areas

  • Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Urban Studies
  • Environmental Science(all)
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Cultural Studies

ID: 88773095