Current Image of Volgograd as Seen by the Student’s Youth

Abstract

The article touches upon specifics and features of students' perception of image of modern Volgograd. In the framework of the study the author interprets the image of the city as a complex structured phenomenon including people's subjective and stereotyped representations of socio-cultural, historical, socio-economic, political and other features of the territory. These representations can be formed both on the basis of specific emotions, personal impressions, and indirectly, from the materials of mass media, literary and cinematic sources, based on eyewitness stories, rumors and conjectures. At the same time, as the world experience shows, the economic development of this territory, the efficiency and legitimacy of political institutions, the state of the tourism industry, cultural life and demographic situation directly depend on how attractive the image of the city is for its residents and other members of society. Being a sophisticated and multi-component organization that can have a strong impact not only on the individual, but also on the mass perception and experience of the place and its identification, the image of the provincial city greatly affects the life strategies and migration attitudes of its residents. Especially it is true for young people and working population – graduates of schools and universities, young professionals. The authors describe the essence of the image positioning of the territory and the most important reasons for the wide spread of such practices, determines the value attitude of young people to Volgograd, proposes measures to improve the current image of the city. The researchers apply the results of quantitative and qualitative sociological research such as a questionnaire survey of students enrolled in 1–4 courses of various education fields of Volgograd State Socio-pedagogical University, interviews with experts.