The article dwells upon the role of the symbol of the Motherland in the practices of political mobilization in the post-Soviet Russia. In the first section of the article the author demonstrates how political scientists study the phenomenon of political mobilization, its subjects, resources, types, and mechanisms. The next section focuses on the role which a symbol in general and the maternal symbol in particular plays in the practices of political mobilization. The final section deals with the problem of using the symbol of Motherland by the agents of mobilization in contemporary Russia. The author takes as an example the maternal image of the country from Iraklii Toidze’s famous poster “The Motherland calls!” which serves as one of the most prominent case of visualization of mobilization appeal. The representatives of various political forces exploit the image in multiple forms appealing to voting, to participate in anti-government actions, to support a certain candidate, to defend the Motherland against external and internal enemies. The author makes the conclusion that various political actors will employ the maternal symbol of the country on the parliament (2016) and presidential (2018) campaigns in Russia. read in PDF>>>
