Commemorative Signs at Road Accident Places

Abstract

The goal of the article is an inquiry into the contemporary practice of installing monuments or commemorative signs at places where automobile accidents have occurred; the authors attempt botha description and typology thereof, as well as make arguments concerning the tradition of installingand visiting them. The article draws on the data of fieldwork conducted by the authors in the Vladimir and Tula regions in 2010 within the framework of ethnographic project on the “Sacred Spaceof Memory in Central Russia: Commemorative Signs at Accidental Death Spots”. There have beenlocated 138 cenotaphs in these regions. Among the interviewed were the locals, cemetery servicestaff, and drivers.