Yelets in a Regional Cultural Space: Province or Center?

Abstract

This article assesses the possibilities of the city Yelets being considered as the cultural center of the Lipetsk region. Having the status of a ‘city of military glory’ and a rich cultural and industrial history, its heroic character, which preserved Yelets in the discourse of intellectual history, and left the memory of the city in important Russian texts all seem to support this point of view. However, a number of factors may impede such a positioning of the urban space. The rivalry with Lipetsk for tourist flows influences this and is gradually being actualized in the new economic and cultural reality, where culture is the driver of development. The article uses discourse analysis to determine the concept of ‘center’ among subjects of urban policy.