Narracje historyczne w opowieści o mieście. Przypadek przewodników turystycznych po Moskwie i Kijowie

Guidebooks are practical texts that accompany people in navigating through an unknown space. Along with guiding and helping in the logistic organisation of the trip, they narrate the story of the selected place, city or region. Due to this last function, guidebooks can be a valuable source in historical research. Referring to Moscow and Kyiv Soviet guidebooks, the paper discusses the connection between text composition and historical narrative. Using the methodology of semiotics, the article shows that different elements of city space such as houses, streets, monuments, museums etc. communicate messages about history, society, and identity. Since the city space is a big “warehouse” of objects and meanings, not all of them will be incorporated into the tourist space. The article shows which places were included (but also excluded) in Moscow and Kyiv tourist routes and depicts their connection with the canon of historical events. The paper also looks more closely at the ideological and rhetorical features of guidebook texts and how they reflect the dominant historical narrative.