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In the mid-twentieth century scholars in the United States began to examine American society through the lens of civil religion, a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century. Although much of the discussion focused on civil religion in the US, other scholars began to recognise that a civil religion also existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While American civil religion developed organically within all strata of society, it can be argued that in the Soviet Union there was a deliberate strategy to use civil religion as a tool to replace established religion, and to create a single sense of Soviet identity among a geographically-dispersed and ethnically-diverse population. Most studies on Soviet civil religion have focused on communist rites and rituals, and the 'cult' of Lenin. Few scholars have examined the elaborate system of symbols that were essential to reinforcing Soviet civil religion so that it became an everyday aspect of life in the USSR. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by examining the simvolika, or set of symbols, of the Soviet Union. While the official state symbols included the Soviet flag, state emblem, and national anthem, the set of symbols that were vital to the practice of Soviet civil religion was much more extensive. This study will examine the usage of an array of flags, seals, symbolic elements, imagery, and motifs that were essential to the socialisation of children and the reinforcement of Soviet civil religion in adulthood. Finally, it will examine the symbolic legacies of the USSR in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union "An adaptation of the doctoral thesis in history submitted as part of the requirements for the PhD degree at the University of Leicester (UK), 2021".,
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The flags of Liberia’s counties are often derided in social media forums as “childish”, “poorly designed”, or “ugly”. However, such judgments, derived from European flag design traditions, fail to account for the cultural and political context in which the flags were created. This paper explores the historical circumstances of their introduction in the mid-1960s—a time of rising discontent among indigenous Liberians opposed to the government dominated by Americo-Liberians. The introduction of county flags—which draw upon Americo-Liberian quilting traditions and serve as a genre of flag design unique to the nation—served the political and cultural purposes of the ruling elite. This paper also addresses the reception by European and American audiences of flags employing an African artistic tradition, and how that reception is reflected in social media discussions of Liberian county flags.
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“Soiuz” in Russian means “union”—a key word in the formal name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Once the world’s largest state, the Soviet Union comprised 15 republics and more than 100 distinct ethnic groups. The country celebrated its diversity while at the same time emphasizing the unity of all Soviet peoples. Throughout the 1922–1991 history of the USSR a highly-developed system of symbolic representations was used to portray the strength of the union. This paper examines the many ways in which the concepts of union and unity were symbolically portrayed in Soviet society including the use of flags, emblems, imagery, and slogans. It demonstrates the importance of the concept of “soiuz” in the Soviet Union. Finally, it shows how unity symbols were central to Soviet messaging both domestically and internationally.
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- unity symbolism
- 3-races theme (1)
- African flags (1)
- Americo-Liberian quilting traditions (1)
- Americo-Liberians (1)
- badges (1)
- banal nationalism (1)
- civil religion (1)
- coats of arms (1)
- coins (1)
- communist symbols (2)
- currency (1)
- demographics (1)
- flag designs (1)
- flags (1)
- flags in Liberia (1)
- greeting cards (1)
- hammer and sickle (2)
- hammer & sickle (1)
- hymns (1)
- identity studies (1)
- internationalism (1)
- Liberian counties - flags (1)
- Liberian county flags (1)
- Liberian flags (1)
- Liberian history (1)
- money (1)
- national anthems (1)
- national symbols (1)
- peasants (1)
- political socialization (1)
- postage stamps (1)
- postcards (1)
- propaganda (1)
- quilt-influenced flags (1)
- red banner of revolution (1)
- red star (2)
- regional flags (1)
- socialist symbols (2)
- Soviet civil religion (1)
- Soviet emblem (1)
- Soviet flags (1)
- Soviet identity (1)
- Soviet republics (1)
- Soviet state emblem (1)
- Soviet symbols (1)
- Soviet Union (2)
- state symbols (1)
- subnational flag sets (1)
- subnational flags (1)
- subnational symbols (1)
- symbols of Liberia (1)
- three-races theme (1)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (2)
- unity flag displays (1)
- workers (1)
- znachki (1)
- символика (1)
- символы (1)
- Советский Союз (1)
- Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР) (1)