Field Reports
We are not ghosts
Authors: Nikolaos Olma
Types: Guest Contributions
Location: Kyrgyzstan
Themes: Deindustrialization, Extractivism, Postsocialism, Tourism
Authors: Nikolaos Olma
Types: Guest Contributions
Location: Kyrgyzstan
Themes: Deindustrialization, Extractivism, Postsocialism, Tourism
Authors: Dace Dzenovska
Themes: Geopolitics, Imperialism, Sovereignty
Dace Dzenovska argues that the encounter between the Latvian subject and its very own Russian imperialism represents a clash of sovereignties. If the Latvian subject strives for an international relations version of sovereignty that allows it to join existing alliances, the Russian state as a multinational federation – or an empire – strives for a geopolitical version of sovereignty that allows it to constitute – or reshape – orders.
92-year old Milda lives in a village next to a former railway station in the Latvian-Russian borderlands. During the Soviet period, it was a vibrant transportation hub. Residents recall 'wagons of watermelons' that passed through and 'crowds of summer residents' that came from Leningrad. Things have changed since then. This European Research Council-funded project aims to find out what these changes mean for the people who are living them, and what they reveal about forms of capitalism and political authority in postsocialist spaces and beyond.
If you would like to find out more about the project or contribute a blog on a resonant aspect of your own research to the Field Reports section of our website, please get in touch by writing to emptiness@anthro.ox.ac.uk.