Rubinsteina Street as a sociocultural phenomenon: features of organization and reasons for popularity

The paper dwells upon barhopping as a part of St. Petersburg urban culture, on an example of Rubinshteina Street. Barhopping is a fullfledged part of modern urban culture. The paper presents the results of a research in which Rubinsteina Street in St. Petersburg was studied in terms of symbolic interpretation of alcohol-related practices. This street was considered a cultural sample, kind of cultural layer, which has its own rules, structure, integral elements and atmosphere. The objectives of this work were to describe and explain the phenomena of Rubinsteina Street; to establish the main factors affecting the popularity of the street among residents and visitors of St. Petersburg; to study the internal structure and distinctive features of the street; to provide a symbolic interpretation of alcohol-related practices on Rubinsteina Street. Within the framework of the research, T. Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption and M. Bakhtin’s theory of the culture of popular laughter were implemented. In accordance with the research objectives, our methods included observation, photographic observation and a series of expert interviews with regular patrons and workers of Rubinsteina Street bars. Also, a content analysis of social networks was conducted to analyze the phenomena of popularity of Rubinshteina Street from the perspective of symbolization of alcohol-related practices. The results of the research were then analyzed and presented in thematic blocks.

drinking culture, urban culture, Rubinshteina Street, conspicuous consumption, symbolic alcohol-related practices, cultural anthropology

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