ВОПРОСЫ ОНОМАСТИКИ | PROBLEMS OF ONOMASTICS

Anastasia Vladimirovna Kolmogorova
National Research University Higher School of Economics-St Petersburg (HSE University), St Petersburg, Russia

TOPONYMS IN SOVIET SONG DISCOURSE (1964–1991): A CORPUS-BASED STUDY

For citation
Kolmogorova, A. V. (2025). Toponyms in Soviet Song Discourse (1964–1991): A Corpus-Based Study. Voprosy onomastiki, 22(2), 148–182. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2025.22.2.020

Received on 26 July 2024
Accepted on 6 December 2024

Abstract: This article investigates the use of toponyms (astionyms, cosmonyms, hydronyms, urbanonyms, and others) in Soviet song discourse spanning three decades (the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s), as well as the final years of the Soviet period (1990–1991). The analysis is based on a corpus of 6,134 Russian-language song lyrics released on vinyl records by the state-run label Melodiya between 1964 and 1991, compiled by the author. The study aims to identify the distinctive features and prevailing trends in the use of toponyms across four Soviet chronological periods. The methodology combines computer-based analysis of large text datasets (named entity recognition and GIS visualisation), qualitative and quantitative methods, discourse analysis, and elements of linguistic and cultural analysis. Through this comprehensive approach, the study sheds light on the primary tendencies in the employment of place names across the vast corpus of Soviet songs. The frequency and distribution of place names in the lyrics of Soviet songs is determined by the state’s efforts to legitimize various political and economic decisions in the minds of the people. The selection of astionyms aligns with patterns of internal labour migration; oronyms, astionyms, and urbanonyms reflect the foreign policy priorities of the Soviet state in each period; the frequency and contextual framing of cosmonyms project an idealized image of the USSR on the international stage. Toponym use also correlates with the degree of freedom of expression in Soviet society. Waves of ideological and economic emigration to Europe and the United States align with an increase in the use of terms referring to foreign countries and capitalist cities, as well as urbanonyms associated with the places of residence of emigrants from the Soviet Union. Soviet song discourse also reflects collective experiences of wartime trauma, with references to the Second World War and the Soviet-Afghan conflict appearing across the decades. Further research may fruitfully extend this analysis by comparing the findings with toponymic patterns in post-Soviet popular song corpora.

Keywords: toponyms, Soviet popular music, named entity recognition, GIS technologies, institutional discourse, linguistic corpus, conceptual worldview

Acknowledgements

This article was prepared as part of the project Text as Big Data: Methods and Models for Working with Large-Scale Textual Data (FI-2025-32), conducted within the framework of fundamental research under the thematic plan of the State Assignment for the National Research University Higher School of Economics for 2025.

The author is grateful to Sofia Karpova for her assistance in compiling the corpus material.

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