Abstract. The article highlights some new trends in the culture of cities that have received the honorary title of the Russian Federation “City of Military Glory”. The experience and results of a study of the state of the sociocultural situation in Kozelsk, Kaluga Region, are revealed - the city was awarded the high status of honor in 2009. It is shown that the sociological approach to studying the state of the city’s cultural sphere can be applied in the practical activities of city and district administrations, cultural workers, the public and citizens in the interests of the city’s development.

An important role and significance in the status of the city is played by the military merits of the ancestors, which are rooted in the minds of people through their knowledge of the history of the region. The custodians of status are objects of tangible and intangible heritage. Hence, one of the driving forces for the development of the cultural environment of the city is the attitude of the population towards such objects and the interaction between different groups of residents in the process of preserving, studying and transmitting to their descendants the memory of the glorious military past of their predecessors. The results of the study can be widely used in the development of measures for the development of the urban cultural environment and programs that implement regional cultural policies.

Key words: city of military glory, city of military valor, cultural environment, cultural space, sociological survey, military-historical heritage, memorialization, tourism.