Beschreibung
On 8 December 2013, Ukraine’s central Lenin monument in Kyiv was pulled down. In the following months, in what became known as the “Leninfall,” Ukraine swept away hundreds of communist monuments, expressing an explicit desire to break away from the Soviet past and, implicitly, from Russia. This book examines the evolution of post-Euromaidan de-Sovietization beyond the issues of toppling of old statues and implementation of new anti-totalitarian laws. It explores decommunization as both a political and cultural phenomenon that exposes the multivocality of the Ukrainian population and involves various forms of dialogical interaction between ordinary citizens and the state. Posters, graffiti, or street names are physical and discursive canvases where old meanings are being contested and re-articulated, and where new political symbols that combine nationalist and democratic elements are being defined.
Autorenportrait
The author:
Dr. Anna Kutkina studied Political Science, International Relations, Nationalism, and Gender Studies in Vancouver, Paris, Budapest, Glasgow, and Helsinki. Kutkina lectured at the University of Helsinki and Aleksanteri Institute. She is an advisor to the Internally Displaced Universities of Ukraine research platform and member of the Gift of Life Foundation. Her papers have been published by, among other outlets, Politiikasta, the Canadian Urban Institute, and Discursus Platform: Centre of Social Design.
The author of the foreword:
Professor Juri Mykkänen is Vice-Dean for Faculty Disciplines at the University of Helsinki.
Rezension
“Captivating and original work on decommunization of post-Euromaidan Ukraine. Passionately and persuasively written, this book is a daring analysis … a scientific statement of interdisciplinary value.”—Elena Trubina, Professor of Social Theory, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg
“Dr. Kutkina’s book, the fruit of a 7-year long ethnographic research conducted under exigent conditions, takes the reader on a fascinating interdisciplinary journey involving political science, anthropology, cultural studies, visual studies, and memory studies, navigating through the multifaceted theoretical lacunae of the borderlands, decommunization, de-Russification, post- and neo-colonialism, nationalism studies, poststructuralist and postfoundational theory as well as, in particular, the theory of hegemony and counter-hegemony, dialogism and heteroglossia, the construction of multivocality, and discourse analysis.”—András L. Pap, Professor of Law, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest
