CULTURAL SPACE OF ASTANA: SYMBOLIC CONTENT PECULIARITIES
The article considers the scientific problem of filling the cultural space of the city of Astana, capital of Kazakhstan today, by the symbols of the era. The choice of the subject of the article is not only due to its relevance, but the research experience of the authors as well. As the object of research is the city itself, the subject of this study is the cultural space of the city and its symbolic content. The scientific base of the research consists of written, cartographic, statistical sources from the archives funds of Kazakhstan, as well as field research materials. Urban cultural space and its symbolic monuments content is analyzed in the context of civilizational development of the society. In the methodological part of the investigation the authors focused on the cultural approach to the study of urban culture. Applying the methods of scientific knowledge of urban culture, the authors analyze the process of forming the cultural space of the city and features of its symbolic content as a result of anthropogenic influences. On the basis of archival material, the effect of political and ideological doctrines on the cultural symbolism of the urban space is shown. The peculiarities of citizens’ perception of the modern cultural symbols are identified and examined. The authors justify the need to preserve the pre-revolutionary and Soviet cultural landscape of the city and its emblematic monuments in the context of global trends in preserving the cultural past.