The article deals with the using of the symbol of the Motherland in the symbolic politics in the post-Soviet Russia. The author demonstrates that the maternal symbol of Russia is employed in the politics of the national identity, in the practices of political mobilization, in legitimation and delegitimation of power, in the rhetoric on the international relations, in politics on demography and education. This symbol serves as an important cultural and semiotic resource of power relations; political actors compete for their own interpretation of social reality with help of the “Motherland”, concurring for the right to represent her. The author points out that researching the using the maternal symbol of Russia is heuristic for studying the nature of symbolic politics in general.read in PDF>>>
