WSCHODNIOSŁOWIAŃSKIE NAZWY MIEJSCOWE MOTYWOWANE PRZEZ NAZWY OSOBOWE I ICH FUNKCJE (UJĘCIE DIACHRONICZNE)

The article focuses on Russian place names motivated by personal names. The anthropogenic character of the cultural and social phenomenon that is a city is reflected in them in a very special way. The aim of the article is to take a look at the functions served by place names as language signs, as well as cultural collective symbols, instruments of communal identification of group representations, and vehicles of collective memory. The analysis provided shows that throughout history, the users of Russian language moved from place name-giving based on realistic meaning (localization, orientation and possessive functions) to their extensive usage for pragmatic purposes (ideological function). However, Russian oikonyms, especially the constructions based on anthroponyms presented here, seem to enduringly remain the signs stabilizing (cumulative function) and creating (performative function) a socio-topographic space.