Monuments on the Border between Europe and Asia in the Formation of Geo-Cultural Image of the Ural Region in the 19th – Early 20th Century

The article analyses the installation and public perception of four monuments that were erected in the pre-revolutionary period along the Ural Ridge on the border of Europe with Asia. V. Tatishchev proposed to consider the mountain range as the border between these parts of the world. However, in real space, the symbolic border in the minds of the travellers was associated with several existing mountain passes. After scientists measured the highest point of the Ural Mountains on the Siberian Rout, the regional mining authorities took over the initiative in revealing the figurative potential of the theme of the intercontinental border and installed the first special sign to honor the visit of the heir to the throne to the Urals (in 1837). In the future, the connection of such geographical objects with the royal family only strengthened. For instance, in 1868, the second monument, a cast-iron chapel with domes, appeared on the road from the Goroblagodatskie factories to Kungur to commemorate the passage of the emperor’s son, Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich, from Asia to Europe. Imperial symbols (the double-headed eagle, the crown) and the list of members of the House of Romanov who had crossed that line remained on the roadside monuments until the Revolution, allowing the idea of such monuments to take root in the Urals. However, in railway signs (on the line connecting Perm with Yekaterinburg in the 1870s, on the Samara-Zlatoust railway in the 1890s) the imperial component was no longer present, having completely given way to geographical symbolism. The monuments finally turned into geographically motivated memorials, emphasized the status of the territory, and began to focus on the external positioning of the region. The location of the monuments near the transport networks that ensured passenger traffic in transcontinental transportation contributed to the acquaintance of a significant number of people with them. Encounter with the borderline constructions activated geographical thinking among travellers. They perceived Europe as explored space. Asia was opposed to it. This interpretation of the border image persisted, manifesting itself in new rituals and gaining a more positive meaning.

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