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NEW SIBERIAN JERUSALEM: ORIGINS, TRANSFER, TOPONYMICS IN THE XVII-BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2020. Issue 2 (24). P. 182-198

The paper examines the phenomenon of the "Siberian Jerusalem" based on both materials of religious and secular texts of Siberian authors of the XIX – early XX centuries and documents of the regional archives. Special attention is paid to the analysis of Jerusalem and Palestinian toponymy in Siberia. The author aims to analyze the genesis of the phenomenon of Siberian Jerusalem: its semantics, the relation between the concepts of Siberian and New Jerusalem if such a relation exists. In terms of methodology, the article relies on developments in the field of hierotopy (A. M. Lidov) and cultural-semiotic transfer (S. S. Avanesov). The author comes to the conclusion that Jerusalem during the XVII–XXI centuries remained one of the space-forming sacred symbols of Siberia. At various times, in the social-religious and academic discourse, Tobolsk, Yeniseisk, Tomsk, Kainsk, Novokuznetsk were attributed to Siberian Jerusalem. Siberian pilgrimage and religious texts of the XIX – early XX centuries point to the fact of separation of the concepts of the Old and New Jerusalem in the consciousness of the Siberians. Siberian Jerusalem can be regarded as the image of the New Jerusalem, a continuation of the iconization of Moscow Russia. Until 1917, residents of the territory beyond the Urals recognized Tobolsk as Siberian New Jerusalem. The status of Tobolsk was reinforced by the cultural-semiotic transfer of the Jerusalem topos to Siberia in the form of an idea (Tobolsk as the center of the Universe), an image (the Tobolsk Kremlin complex) and liturgy ("the procession on the donkey"). The construction of Siberian Jerusalem was accompanied by an active transfer of the symbols of Jerusalem to Siberia, which was reflected in the toponymy of the region. Reconstruction of the origin of names reveals several sources of the creation of Palestinian toponymy in Siberia such as church construction, gold mining and the Jewish presence.

Keywords: Siberia, New Jerusalem, Siberian Jerusalem, cultural and semiotic transfer, Siberian pilgrims, Jews in Siberia, Orthodoxy