Tersk cossack oikonymy: formation, transformation and revitalization (based on the material of the Chechen Republic)

The article is devoted to a diachronic linguistic study of the processes of formation, transformation and revitalization of the oikonymic system created by the Terek Cossacks on the territory of the Chechen Republic. The empirical base consisted of 62 homonyms extracted from the toponymic dictionaries of A.S. Suleymanov and A.V. Tverdoy, cartographic materials of the XIX-XXI centuries, as well as official documents, including the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated 08/24/1977. It is shown how the pre-revolutionary model formed by the Cossack settlers fixed the foundations of their worldview, social structure, economic structure and sacred worldview in geographical names. The paper analyzes in detail the mechanism of ideological and administrative influence on oikonymy in the Soviet period, which led to its systemic deconstruction, as well as the complex and contradictory processes of its restoration and actualization in the post-Soviet period. The study has shown that the evolution of Cossack oikonymy is a complete cycle: from a motivated system that reflected the way of life of the Cossacks, through an ideologically driven deconstruction, to the modern phase of revitalization, in which oikonyms function as an object of symbolic restoration of historical memory. Oikonymy acts not only as historical evidence, but also as an active tool for constructing and preserving the ethno-cultural identity of the Terek Cossacks, and its evolution clearly demonstrates the mechanisms of interaction between language, power and historical memory.

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