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Time, Objectified: Introducing a New Collected Volume on the Materialization of Soviet Temporalities
In the USSR, there was no such thing as a singular, coherent "Soviet temporality," an assumption of scholarship that foregrounds the unity of Marxist-Leninist historicism.
How and Why the Arctic Council Survived Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
How, and why, did the Arctic Council survive the crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022?
Portraying Perpetration, Victimhood, and Implication at Sites of Soviet Repression in Moscow
The Russian state’s failure to reckon with the legacy of Soviet repression has strengthened memory discourses now used to justify the current war in Ukraine.
Unpacking Emotions in Post-Soviet Russia: The Role of Shame and Pride in Socioeconomic Transformation
The stories of shuttle traders or chelnoki offer a vibrant, intimate glimpse into the personal and societal upheavals of the early post-Soviet 1990s.
Communist Successor Parties and the War in Ukraine: A Precarious Balancing Act
In the face of Russia’s war of aggression, some factions within the Russian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan Left have aligned with Putin’s right-wing dictatorship.
Not Just for Laughs: What Online Memes Tell Us about Russian Public Support for Government Propaganda
What can memes tell us about the attitudes of “ordinary Russians” as presented by meme creators who do not support Putin’s regime?
The Buryat-Mongolian Buddhist Tradition: Legacy, Resilience, and Renaissance
Following the collapse of the Soviet regime, Buddhism in Buryatia entered a new era characterized by efforts to revive the long-repressed tradition.
The Crimean Bridge as a Symbolic and Military Object in Contemporary Russia
The Kremlin has concluded that the Kerch Strait or “Crimean” Bridge requires not only physical fortification, but also media invisibility—an ironic reversal of its intended purpose.
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part III
Did you spend time in Russia or elsewhere in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s? Have you saved an artifact, souvenir, kitschy trinket, book, or memento that embodies the spirit of that time?
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part II
Objects I saved from 1991-93 reflect the advent of widening global travel, including to and from Russia.
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part I
Svetlana Boym once wrote that “today’s everyday artifact can turn into tomorrow’s counterrevolutionary kitsch.” This project, focused as it is on yesterday’s everyday artifacts, could be considered “counterrevolutionary” relative to the current official narrative of the Russian 1990s.
Announcing: The Fifth Annual Graduate Student Essay Competition
The Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia and The Jordan Center Blog are pleased to announce the fifth annual Graduate Student Essay Competition. Submit via Google form (link below) by Friday, 18 April 2025 at 11:59 PM EST for full consideration.
“And Everything Around is So Non-Russian”: Crimean Tatars Against Late-Soviet Crimea
In the 1960s-1980s, Crimean Tatars managed to organize a grassroots political movement unprecedented in the history of Soviet dissent.
What does Ukraine’s land market law mean for its democratic future?
Until 2021, Ukraine was the only democratic country where it was illegal to sell agricultural land. Its land market law was a triumph of public policy and democratic process.
Intertextual Empire: Rereading Brodsky’s “On the Talks at Kabul” in 2024
After 2022, Joseph Brodsky’s 1992 poems on Ukraine and Afghanistan evoke the reader’s anger, embarrassment, and, perhaps, confusion: why would Brodsky, who famously despised the Soviet Union, lament its collapse?
Can the “Overwhelming Majority” Be Trusted? Public Support and Private Opinion on the Invasion of Ukraine in Russia
Public opinion polls conducted since March 2022 that indicate overwhelming public support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine cannot be taken at face value.
The Kyrgyz Republic’s Military Doctrine: Reflecting the New Geopolitical Insecurities
Despite its massive commitment to re-armament since 2021, Kyrgyzstan continues to insist that it prefers to resolve border conflicts—including with its neighbor, Tajikistan—by diplomatic means.
Death of the (Czech) Author: On Literary Prizes and the Relevance of Writers
Has the Magnesia Litera re-centralized literature in Czech society? No. Currently, no literary prize has that kind of power. But maybe these cultural conditions allow for a new relationship with writing in East Central Europe.
The End of Russia’s Asian Ambitions
Despite Moscow’s best efforts, Russia will likely remain primarily a European power rather than an Asian one.
Arctic Exceptionalism: A Narrative of Cooperation and Conflict from Gorbachev to Medvedev and Putin
Since 2022, the narrative of Arctic exceptionalism has experienced major disruptions.