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Excerpt from "Monuments for Posterity: Self-Commemoration and the Stalinist Culture of Time," Part I
Only through self-commemoration could the Stalinist memory regime complete the intergenerational chain of memory, assuring individuals that their community possessed not only an ancient past, but also a limitless future.
Excerpt from "Monuments for Posterity: Self-Commemoration and the Stalinist Culture of Time," Part II
Neither monument building as a practice nor the desire for perpetuating memory were limited to official culture and its “true believers.” Rather, the value of being remembered was shared, and...
Excerpt from "Monuments for Posterity: Self-Commemoration and the Stalinist Culture of Time," Part III
Synthesis—the practice of uniting architects, artists, and sculptors in concept, development, and design—was a general feature of Stalinist artistic practice, but it offered unique advantages for crafting monuments that would...
Or(c)ientalism (Russia's Alien Nations)
If the appeal to literary fantasy might seem to cheapen ideological discourse, then this is a job well done.
The Eye of Sauron over Moscow, or, Revenge of the Orcs
Nothing says “Evil Empire” like the Eye of Sauron.
Alternate Histories: An Immigrant Story
I’m writing this essay rather than hoisting a Kalashnikov for a simple reason: my parents’ determination to leave the Soviet Union.
Red Fingerprints: The Soviet Legacy in the Horn of Africa
It is symbolic that the most enduring legacy of the Soviet Union on the African continent is the Kalashnikov pattern rifle.
Orcs Online (Russia's Alien Nations)
The Orc is the Sovok weaponized.
Off the Reservation (Russia's Alien Nations)
The “Orc question” becomes much more provocative when seen in terms of internal cultural dynamics.
Orknash: Supporting the Home Team (Russia's Alien Nations)
The Orc identity imagines rejection by the West, only to turn the Orc into an imaginary weapon against the West.
Transnistria, Crimea, Russia: There Goes The Neighborhood
None of the former Soviet territories exist in a vacuum and any declaration of independence or separatism will always involve the support or condemnation of more powerful and influential actors.
Try a Little Tenderness: An Immigrant Story
All I have left from the first 14 years of my life is an envelope of old photographs.