Юзовка – Сталино – Донецк: политизация национального вопроса в прозе о Донбассе советских писателей 1930–1980-х гг.

Donetsk is a young industrial city. This is captured in the history of its naming, reflective of the transformations of the politics of the two empires: Yuzovka – Stalino – Donetsk. There are few fictional works devoted to Donetsk in Soviet literature. It is local, regional literature, created by natives of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s. Donetsk’s art-journalistic metatext was formed along with the city transforming itself from a worker’s settlement into the capital of industrial Donbass. After October 1917 the city and metatext of Donetsk consistently “did not remember”, “did not see” its origins – Yuzovka – but was concentrated on the Soviet present of the region. The historically conditioned multinational of Yuzovka, under the pressure of Soviet policy and ideology, was transformed into an internationality based on the dominance of the Soviet (essentially Russian) man and his local kind: the Donbasovets. The aspirations to level out the national diversity of the region, to obscure the role of people with Ukrainian roots, and to replace it with the politicised internationalization in the fabric of the works have found their semantic and ideological limit. This limit intensified when the depersonalisation of national-cultural features of the city, region was artificially imposed and it manifested in speech, everyday realities, and the memorial culture of the common people.Donetsk is a young industrial city. This is captured in the history of its naming, reflective of the transformations of the politics of the two empires: Yuzovka – Stalino – Donetsk. There are few fictional works devoted to Donetsk in Soviet literature. It is local, regional literature, created by natives of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s. Donetsk’s art-journalistic metatext was formed along with the city transforming itself from a worker’s settlement into the capital of industrial Donbass. After October 1917 the city and metatext of Donetsk consistently “did not remember”, “did not see” its origins – Yuzovka – but was concentrated on the Soviet present of the region. The historically conditioned multinational of Yuzovka, under the pressure of Soviet policy and ideology, was transformed into an internationality based on the dominance of the Soviet (essentially Russian) man and his local kind: the Donbasovets. The aspirations to level out the national diversity of the region, to obscure the role of people with Ukrainian roots, and to replace it with the politicised internationalization in the fabric of the works have found their semantic and ideological limit. This limit intensified when the depersonalisation of national-cultural features of the city, region was artificially imposed and it manifested in speech, everyday realities, and the memorial culture of the common people.Donetsk is a young industrial city. This is captured in the history of its naming, reflective of the transformations of the politics of the two empires: Yuzovka – Stalino – Donetsk. There are few fictional works devoted to Donetsk in Soviet literature. It is local, regional literature, created by natives of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s. Donetsk’s art-journalistic metatext was formed along with the city transforming itself from a worker’s settlement into the capital of industrial Donbass. After October 1917 the city and metatext of Donetsk consistently “did not remember”, “did not see” its origins – Yuzovka – but was concentrated on the Soviet present of the region. The historically conditioned multinational of Yuzovka, under the pressure of Soviet policy and ideology, was transformed into an internationality based on the dominance of the Soviet (essentially Russian) man and his local kind: the Donbasovets. The aspirations to level out the national diversity of the region, to obscure the role of people with Ukrainian roots, and to replace it with the politicised internationalization in the fabric of the works have found their semantic and ideological limit. This limit intensified when the depersonalisation of national-cultural features of the city, region was artificially imposed and it manifested in speech, everyday realities, and the memorial culture of the common people.Donetsk is a young industrial city. This is captured in the history of its naming, reflective of the transformations of the politics of the two empires: Yuzovka – Stalino – Donetsk. There are few fictional works devoted to Donetsk in Soviet literature. It is local, regional literature, created by natives of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s. Donetsk’s art-journalistic metatext was formed along with the city transforming itself from a worker’s settlement into the capital of industrial Donbass. After October 1917 the city and metatext of Donetsk consistently “did not remember”, “did not see” its origins – Yuzovka – but was concentrated on the Soviet present of the region. The historically conditioned multinational of Yuzovka, under the pressure of Soviet policy and ideology, was transformed into an internationality based on the dominance of the Soviet (essentially Russian) man and his local kind: the Donbasovets. The aspirations to level out the national diversity of the region, to obscure the role of people with Ukrainian roots, and to replace it with the politicised internationalization in the fabric of the works have found their semantic and ideological limit. This limit intensified when the depersonalisation of national-cultural features of the city, region was artificially imposed and it manifested in speech, everyday realities, and the memorial culture of the common people

Польские города как пространство истории в Семейном архиве Бориса Херсонского

This article is focused on the so-called urban texts related to Poland with a special emphasis on the historical and geographical region of Galicia, which covers the territories of Red Ruthenia in Ukraine and Lesser Poland, and on their historical connotations as presented in Boris Khersonsky’s book of poetry Family archive (2006). Khersonsky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian poet from Odesa, who has been awarded prestigious prizes for his literary work both in Ukraine and abroad. Family archive can be described as a sort of novel in verse about the tragic history of the 20th century told through the family history of the author himself. The main goal of this article is to analyze the specific spatial structure of the book in the context of geopoetics and places of memory with a special accent on Polish cities and towns. This territory is the quintessential locus of historical events connected to Eastern European Jewish heritage and the tragedy of the Holocaust. This paper seeks to reconstruct the image of Poland with all the connotations and cultural myths associated with its multicultural experience.This article is focused on the so-called urban texts related to Poland with a special emphasis on the historical and geographical region of Galicia, which covers the territories of Red Ruthenia in Ukraine and Lesser Poland, and on their historical connotations as presented in Boris Khersonsky’s book of poetry Family archive (2006). Khersonsky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian poet from Odesa, who has been awarded prestigious prizes for his literary work both in Ukraine and abroad. Family archive can be described as a sort of novel in verse about the tragic history of the 20th century told through the family history of the author himself. The main goal of this article is to analyze the specific spatial structure of the book in the context of geopoetics and places of memory with a special accent on Polish cities and towns. This territory is the quintessential locus of historical events connected to Eastern European Jewish heritage and the tragedy of the Holocaust. This paper seeks to reconstruct the image of Poland with all the connotations and cultural myths associated with its multicultural experience.This article is focused on the so-called urban texts related to Poland with a special emphasis on the historical and geographical region of Galicia, which covers the territories of Red Ruthenia in Ukraine and Lesser Poland, and on their historical connotations as presented in Boris Khersonsky’s book of poetry Family archive (2006). Khersonsky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian poet from Odesa, who has been awarded prestigious prizes for his literary work both in Ukraine and abroad. Family archive can be described as a sort of novel in verse about the tragic history of the 20th century told through the family history of the author himself. The main goal of this article is to analyze the specific spatial structure of the book in the context of geopoetics and places of memory with a special accent on Polish cities and towns. This territory is the quintessential locus of historical events connected to Eastern European Jewish heritage and the tragedy of the Holocaust. This paper seeks to reconstruct the image of Poland with all the connotations and cultural myths associated with its multicultural experience.This article is focused on the so-called urban texts related to Poland with a special emphasis on the historical and geographical region of Galicia, which covers the territories of Red Ruthenia in Ukraine and Lesser Poland, and on their historical connotations as presented in Boris Khersonsky’s book of poetry Family archive (2006). Khersonsky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian poet from Odesa, who has been awarded prestigious prizes for his literary work both in Ukraine and abroad. Family archive can be described as a sort of novel in verse about the tragic history of the 20th century told through the family history of the author himself. The main goal of this article is to analyze the specific spatial structure of the book in the context of geopoetics and places of memory with a special accent on Polish cities and towns. This territory is the quintessential locus of historical events connected to Eastern European Jewish heritage and the tragedy of the Holocaust. This paper seeks to reconstruct the image of Poland with all the connotations and cultural myths associated with its multicultural experience

„Miasto nigdy się nie kończy…”. Mroczne oblicze miasta w prozie Herty Müller

One of the recurring motifs in Herta Müllerʼs work is the experience of the city, which often becomes a space of threat, violence, uncertainty, and finally repression and death. The German Nobel Prize laureate describes urban spaces, where the fate of the city is intertwined with the fate of the protagonists, depicting a world of people who are downtrodden, lost, defeated, and yet not without hope. This article discusses selected works by Herta Müller, in which the multidimensional image of the city opens up new fields for reflection and allows us to gain insight into how a totalitarian state functions. The cities the author describes are reflective of all Romanian cities under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu; they are places of depravity and terror. This article also explores the aesthetics of ugliness which affects the understanding of the role of cities in Herta Müllerʼs prose, and analyzes important urban symbols such as asphalt, apartment blocks, parks and the flora and fauna characteristic of communist cities. In many of Müllerʼs texts, cities form a dramatic backdrop for acts of violence and repression against ‘the Stranger’ – for instance, the German minority,the Roma community, and women. Thus, the experience of an individual becomes the experience of the whole community, which makes Herta Müllerʼs work enduringly relevant.One of the recurring motifs in Herta Müllerʼs work is the experience of the city, which often becomes a space of threat, violence, uncertainty, and finally repression and death. The German Nobel Prize laureate describes urban spaces, where the fate of the city is intertwined with the fate of the protagonists, depicting a world of people who are downtrodden, lost, defeated, and yet not without hope. This article discusses selected works by Herta Müller, in which the multidimensional image of the city opens up new fields for reflection and allows us to gain insight into how a totalitarian state functions. The cities the author describes are reflective of all Romanian cities under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu; they are places of depravity and terror. This article also explores the aesthetics of ugliness which affects the understanding of the role of cities in Herta Müllerʼs prose, and analyzes important urban symbols such as asphalt, apartment blocks, parks and the flora and fauna characteristic of communist cities. In many of Müllerʼs texts, cities form a dramatic backdrop for acts of violence and repression against ‘the Stranger’ – for instance, the German minority,the Roma community, and women. Thus, the experience of an individual becomes the experience of the whole community, which makes Herta Müllerʼs work enduringly relevant.One of the recurring motifs in Herta Müllerʼs work is the experience of the city, which often becomes a space of threat, violence, uncertainty, and finally repression and death. The German Nobel Prize laureate describes urban spaces, where the fate of the city is intertwined with the fate of the protagonists, depicting a world of people who are downtrodden, lost, defeated, and yet not without hope. This article discusses selected works by Herta Müller, in which the multidimensional image of the city opens up new fields for reflection and allows us to gain insight into how a totalitarian state functions. The cities the author describes are reflective of all Romanian cities under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu; they are places of depravity and terror. This article also explores the aesthetics of ugliness which affects the understanding of the role of cities in Herta Müllerʼs prose, and analyzes important urban symbols such as asphalt, apartment blocks, parks and the flora and fauna characteristic of communist cities. In many of Müllerʼs texts, cities form a dramatic backdrop for acts of violence and repression against ‘the Stranger’ – for instance, the German minority,the Roma community, and women. Thus, the experience of an individual becomes the experience of the whole community, which makes Herta Müllerʼs work enduringly relevant.One of the recurring motifs in Herta Müllerʼs work is the experience of the city, which often becomes a space of threat, violence, uncertainty, and finally repression and death. The German Nobel Prize laureate describes urban spaces, where the fate of the city is intertwined with the fate of the protagonists, depicting a world of people who are downtrodden, lost, defeated, and yet not without hope. This article discusses selected works by Herta Müller, in which the multidimensional image of the city opens up new fields for reflection and allows us to gain insight into how a totalitarian state functions. The cities the author describes are reflective of all Romanian cities under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu; they are places of depravity and terror. This article also explores the aesthetics of ugliness which affects the understanding of the role of cities in Herta Müllerʼs prose, and analyzes important urban symbols such as asphalt, apartment blocks, parks and the flora and fauna characteristic of communist cities. In many of Müllerʼs texts, cities form a dramatic backdrop for acts of violence and repression against ‘the Stranger’ – for instance, the German minority,the Roma community, and women. Thus, the experience of an individual becomes the experience of the whole community, which makes Herta Müllerʼs work enduringly relevant

Ландшафт меняющихся идентичностей на фоне военного вторжения: роман Тамары Дуды Доця сквозь призму перевода

In the environment of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, literary translation acquires critical significance as a way to get Ukraine’s narratives of destruction and urbicide across cultural and political borders. This article will focus on Daisy Gibbons’s 2021 translation of Tamara Duda’s 2019 novel Daughter, set in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, to examine the translator’s project of reconstructing the complex interplay of Eastern and Western Ukrainian identities embroiled in the narrative of crawling occupation. Daughter tells the story of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Donetsk, dissecting the city’s fragmented identity along cultural and linguistic divides and exploring internal tensions and propaganda-fueled conflicts leading to its eventual downfall. The storyline adopts the female protagonist’s insider/outsider perspective, tracing her gradual evolution from an invisible observer to a fearless insurgent fighting for the survival of her unravelling home. The analysis will centre on the translator’s approach, which combines textual and paratextual techniques to highlight the processes of division and destruction – with their transformative impact on the urban space – and to enter into a visible dialogue with the narrator/protagonist’s voice to amplify and reinforce its distinctly pro-Ukrainian perspective.In the environment of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, literary translation acquires critical significance as a way to get Ukraine’s narratives of destruction and urbicide across cultural and political borders. This article will focus on Daisy Gibbons’s 2021 translation of Tamara Duda’s 2019 novel Daughter, set in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, to examine the translator’s project of reconstructing the complex interplay of Eastern and Western Ukrainian identities embroiled in the narrative of crawling occupation. Daughter tells the story of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Donetsk, dissecting the city’s fragmented identity along cultural and linguistic divides and exploring internal tensions and propaganda-fueled conflicts leading to its eventual downfall. The storyline adopts the female protagonist’s insider/outsider perspective, tracing her gradual evolution from an invisible observer to a fearless insurgent fighting for the survival of her unravelling home. The analysis will centre on the translator’s approach, which combines textual and paratextual techniques to highlight the processes of division and destruction – with their transformative impact on the urban space – and to enter into a visible dialogue with the narrator/protagonist’s voice to amplify and reinforce its distinctly pro-Ukrainian perspective.In the environment of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, literary translation acquires critical significance as a way to get Ukraine’s narratives of destruction and urbicide across cultural and political borders. This article will focus on Daisy Gibbons’s 2021 translation of Tamara Duda’s 2019 novel Daughter, set in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, to examine the translator’s project of reconstructing the complex interplay of Eastern and Western Ukrainian identities embroiled in the narrative of crawling occupation. Daughter tells the story of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Donetsk, dissecting the city’s fragmented identity along cultural and linguistic divides and exploring internal tensions and propaganda-fueled conflicts leading to its eventual downfall. The storyline adopts the female protagonist’s insider/outsider perspective, tracing her gradual evolution from an invisible observer to a fearless insurgent fighting for the survival of her unravelling home. The analysis will centre on the translator’s approach, which combines textual and paratextual techniques to highlight the processes of division and destruction – with their transformative impact on the urban space – and to enter into a visible dialogue with the narrator/protagonist’s voice to amplify and reinforce its distinctly pro-Ukrainian perspective.In the environment of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, literary translation acquires critical significance as a way to get Ukraine’s narratives of destruction and urbicide across cultural and political borders. This article will focus on Daisy Gibbons’s 2021 translation of Tamara Duda’s 2019 novel Daughter, set in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, to examine the translator’s project of reconstructing the complex interplay of Eastern and Western Ukrainian identities embroiled in the narrative of crawling occupation. Daughter tells the story of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Donetsk, dissecting the city’s fragmented identity along cultural and linguistic divides and exploring internal tensions and propaganda-fueled conflicts leading to its eventual downfall. The storyline adopts the female protagonist’s insider/outsider perspective, tracing her gradual evolution from an invisible observer to a fearless insurgent fighting for the survival of her unravelling home. The analysis will centre on the translator’s approach, which combines textual and paratextual techniques to highlight the processes of division and destruction – with their transformative impact on the urban space – and to enter into a visible dialogue with the narrator/protagonist’s voice to amplify and reinforce its distinctly pro-Ukrainian perspective

Diabelskie koło historii. Poetyki miejskie w powieści Aleksieja Iwanowa Cienie Teutonów

Shadows of the Teutons, a novel by the contemporary Russian writer Aleksei Ivanov, was published in 2021. The story unfolds across two different time periods. Some events take place in 1457 during the siege of Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order’s State, and the Polish-Teutonic conflict serves as a starting point for the depiction of later battles, in 1945, within the former East Prussia, now known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. This article examines the means used to create the urban spaces depicted in the novel and their transformation as a result of armed conflicts. It focuses on the urban landscapes of Baltiysk (Pillau) and Malbork (Marienburg), which exhibit a complex identity and strong interconnections at various levels of the narrative structure. The analysis explores somatopoetics and thanatopoetics, two categories the author employs to describe places, as well as the auditory and olfactory dimensions of everyday wartime experiences, memoryscapes, Teutonic castles and underground settings such as cellars, bunkers, catacombs, secret passages and tunnels.Shadows of the Teutons, a novel by the contemporary Russian writer Aleksei Ivanov, was published in 2021. The story unfolds across two different time periods. Some events take place in 1457 during the siege of Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order’s State, and the Polish-Teutonic conflict serves as a starting point for the depiction of later battles, in 1945, within the former East Prussia, now known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. This article examines the means used to create the urban spaces depicted in the novel and their transformation as a result of armed conflicts. It focuses on the urban landscapes of Baltiysk (Pillau) and Malbork (Marienburg), which exhibit a complex identity and strong interconnections at various levels of the narrative structure. The analysis explores somatopoetics and thanatopoetics, two categories the author employs to describe places, as well as the auditory and olfactory dimensions of everyday wartime experiences, memoryscapes, Teutonic castles and underground settings such as cellars, bunkers, catacombs, secret passages and tunnels.Shadows of the Teutons, a novel by the contemporary Russian writer Aleksei Ivanov, was published in 2021. The story unfolds across two different time periods. Some events take place in 1457 during the siege of Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order’s State, and the Polish-Teutonic conflict serves as a starting point for the depiction of later battles, in 1945, within the former East Prussia, now known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. This article examines the means used to create the urban spaces depicted in the novel and their transformation as a result of armed conflicts. It focuses on the urban landscapes of Baltiysk (Pillau) and Malbork (Marienburg), which exhibit a complex identity and strong interconnections at various levels of the narrative structure. The analysis explores somatopoetics and thanatopoetics, two categories the author employs to describe places, as well as the auditory and olfactory dimensions of everyday wartime experiences, memoryscapes, Teutonic castles and underground settings such as cellars, bunkers, catacombs, secret passages and tunnels.Shadows of the Teutons, a novel by the contemporary Russian writer Aleksei Ivanov, was published in 2021. The story unfolds across two different time periods. Some events take place in 1457 during the siege of Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order’s State, and the Polish-Teutonic conflict serves as a starting point for the depiction of later battles, in 1945, within the former East Prussia, now known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. This article examines the means used to create the urban spaces depicted in the novel and their transformation as a result of armed conflicts. It focuses on the urban landscapes of Baltiysk (Pillau) and Malbork (Marienburg), which exhibit a complex identity and strong interconnections at various levels of the narrative structure. The analysis explores somatopoetics and thanatopoetics, two categories the author employs to describe places, as well as the auditory and olfactory dimensions of everyday wartime experiences, memoryscapes, Teutonic castles and underground settings such as cellars, bunkers, catacombs, secret passages and tunnels

Sowiecki dzikus, cuchnący dorsz i Muza – Władysława Chodasiewicza widzenie Petersburga

The aim of this article is to analyze and interpret Vladislav Khodasevich’s poem Petersburg (Петербург, 1925), in which the poet evokes the image of the city during the war communism period from the distance of emigration. The poet presents the city in many dimensions: as a place of struggle for physical survival in an era of crisis caused by the Russian Civil War; as a space where high culture clashed with the barbarism of Bolshevism; and in an autobiographical key – as a time in which his own creative forces flourished. The cityscape is based on a series of antinomies: past – present, tradition – innovation, spirituality – materiality, sacrum – profanum, the real world – the surreal world, the culture of old Russia – the primitivism of new times. This allows us to look at the poem simultaneously from several perspectives: historical-literary (cultural life in St. Petersburg during the Civil War), biographical (the poet’s stay in the city in the years 1920–1922), intertextual (assignment of the poem to the Petersburg text) and metatextual/self-referential (Khodasevich’s aesthetic views).The aim of this article is to analyze and interpret Vladislav Khodasevich’s poem Petersburg (Петербург, 1925), in which the poet evokes the image of the city during the war communism period from the distance of emigration. The poet presents the city in many dimensions: as a place of struggle for physical survival in an era of crisis caused by the Russian Civil War; as a space where high culture clashed with the barbarism of Bolshevism; and in an autobiographical key – as a time in which his own creative forces flourished. The cityscape is based on a series of antinomies: past – present, tradition – innovation, spirituality – materiality, sacrum – profanum, the real world – the surreal world, the culture of old Russia – the primitivism of new times. This allows us to look at the poem simultaneously from several perspectives: historical-literary (cultural life in St. Petersburg during the Civil War), biographical (the poet’s stay in the city in the years 1920–1922), intertextual (assignment of the poem to the Petersburg text) and metatextual/self-referential (Khodasevich’s aesthetic views).The aim of this article is to analyze and interpret Vladislav Khodasevich’s poem Petersburg (Петербург, 1925), in which the poet evokes the image of the city during the war communism period from the distance of emigration. The poet presents the city in many dimensions: as a place of struggle for physical survival in an era of crisis caused by the Russian Civil War; as a space where high culture clashed with the barbarism of Bolshevism; and in an autobiographical key – as a time in which his own creative forces flourished. The cityscape is based on a series of antinomies: past – present, tradition – innovation, spirituality – materiality, sacrum – profanum, the real world – the surreal world, the culture of old Russia – the primitivism of new times. This allows us to look at the poem simultaneously from several perspectives: historical-literary (cultural life in St. Petersburg during the Civil War), biographical (the poet’s stay in the city in the years 1920–1922), intertextual (assignment of the poem to the Petersburg text) and metatextual/self-referential (Khodasevich’s aesthetic views).The aim of this article is to analyze and interpret Vladislav Khodasevich’s poem Petersburg (Петербург, 1925), in which the poet evokes the image of the city during the war communism period from the distance of emigration. The poet presents the city in many dimensions: as a place of struggle for physical survival in an era of crisis caused by the Russian Civil War; as a space where high culture clashed with the barbarism of Bolshevism; and in an autobiographical key – as a time in which his own creative forces flourished. The cityscape is based on a series of antinomies: past – present, tradition – innovation, spirituality – materiality, sacrum – profanum, the real world – the surreal world, the culture of old Russia – the primitivism of new times. This allows us to look at the poem simultaneously from several perspectives: historical-literary (cultural life in St. Petersburg during the Civil War), biographical (the poet’s stay in the city in the years 1920–1922), intertextual (assignment of the poem to the Petersburg text) and metatextual/self-referential (Khodasevich’s aesthetic views)

Стены памяти и протеста: Как мемориальные доски преобразуют городские ландшафты в России

This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how theseplaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities.This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how these plaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities.This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how these plaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities.This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how theseplaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities

Miejska przestrzeń pamięci (na podstawie wybranych utworów Herkusa Kunčiusa, Ričardasa Gavelisa, Grigorija Kanowicza)

This article analyses literary representations of Vilnius as a Central and Eastern European city, whose space becomes the field where the memory of many national traditions can be observed. The analysis was conducted on the basis of two novels by Lithuanian writers, i.e. A Lithuanian in Vilnius by Herkus Kunčius and A Vilnius poker by Ričardas Gavelis, as well as the works of Grigory Kanovich, a Lithuanian-Jewish author writing in Russian, i.e. the novel The park of forgotten Jews and the autobiographical-memoir prose Dream about vanished Jerusalem. The conflict-generating aspect of memory is revealed in the works of Lithuanian writers. The city centre becomes a battlefield for the commemoration of one’s own tradition and a sphere of action against the tradition of the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.This article analyses literary representations of Vilnius as a Central and Eastern European city, whose space becomes the field where the memory of many national traditions can be observed. The analysis was conducted on the basis of two novels by Lithuanian writers, i.e. A Lithuanian in Vilnius by Herkus Kunčius and A Vilnius poker by Ričardas Gavelis, as well as the works of Grigory Kanovich, a Lithuanian-Jewish author writing in Russian, i.e. the novel The park of forgotten Jews and the autobiographical-memoir prose Dream about vanished Jerusalem. The conflict-generating aspect of memory is revealed in the works of Lithuanian writers. The city centre becomes a battlefield for the commemoration of one’s own tradition and a sphere of action against the tradition of the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.This article analyses literary representations of Vilnius as a Central and Eastern European city, whose space becomes the field where the memory of many national traditions can be observed. The analysis was conducted on the basis of two novels by Lithuanian writers, i.e. A Lithuanian in Vilnius by Herkus Kunčius and A Vilnius poker by Ričardas Gavelis, as well as the works of Grigory Kanovich, a Lithuanian-Jewish author writing in Russian, i.e. the novel The park of forgotten Jews and the autobiographical-memoir prose Dream about vanished Jerusalem. The conflict-generating aspect of memory is revealed in the works of Lithuanian writers. The city centre becomes a battlefield for the commemoration of one’s own tradition and a sphere of action against the tradition of the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.This article analyses literary representations of Vilnius as a Central and Eastern European city, whose space becomes the field where the memory of many national traditions can be observed. The analysis was conducted on the basis of two novels by Lithuanian writers, i.e. A Lithuanian in Vilnius by Herkus Kunčius and A Vilnius poker by Ričardas Gavelis, as well as the works of Grigory Kanovich, a Lithuanian-Jewish author writing in Russian, i.e. the novel The park of forgotten Jews and the autobiographical-memoir prose Dream about vanished Jerusalem. The conflict-generating aspect of memory is revealed in the works of Lithuanian writers. The city centre becomes a battlefield for the commemoration of one’s own tradition and a sphere of action against the tradition of the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site.the Other, consisting of concealing, marginalising, and removing. Kanovich’s works focus on the issue of Jewish memory in Vilnius after the Holocaust, when the ghetto ceased to exist. Memory becomes present when literary heroes look back at their past. They meet in the park to revive it together. The narration allows us to see how one of the oldest parks in Vilnius is transformed intoa Jewish memorial site

Строить через огонь. Польско-еврейские архитекторы и их профессиональные сети, 1937–1945 г.

Before 1939, Jewish architects were active members of their profession, participating in domestic and international architectural networks and contributing to the built environment of Polish cities. From the mid-1930s, however, intensifying antisemitism and far-right political forces pressured architectural networks to exclude Jews from professional unions. The start of the Second World War and the German occupation in 1939 strained professional architectural networks but led to the formation of underground workshops, cooperatives, and other groups, whose connections extended from Warsaw through the camps and ghettos of occupied Poland. This article presents the history of Jewish-Polish architects from 1937 to 1945. Demonstrating how architectural networks reacted to changing conditions of war, occupation, and genocide, it emphasizes architectural networks as sites of political engagement, ranging from prewar antisemitic attacks on Jews and their removal from the Society of Polish Architects (SARP) to underground architectural networks that hid Jews and allowed them to work. Although the fate of Jewish architects depended largely on their relationships with their professional networks, they also actively decided how to utilize those networks to resist the Nazis and to ensure their survival. This research shows that interpersonal relationships and wartime networks were consequential in determining the wartime fates of Jewish architects and also shaped the profession’s post-war structure.Before 1939, Jewish architects were active members of their profession, participating in domestic and international architectural networks and contributing to the built environment of Polish cities. From the mid-1930s, however, intensifying antisemitism and far-right political forces pressured architectural networks to exclude Jews from professional unions. The start of the Second World War and the German occupation in 1939 strained professional architectural networks but led to the formation of underground workshops, cooperatives, and other groups, whose connections extended from Warsaw through the camps and ghettos of occupied Poland. This article presents the history of Jewish-Polish architects from 1937 to 1945. Demonstrating how architectural networks reacted to changing conditions of war, occupation, and genocide, it emphasizes architectural networks as sites of political engagement, ranging from prewar antisemitic attacks on Jews and their removal from the Society of Polish Architects (SARP) to underground architectural networks that hid Jews and allowed them to work. Although the fate of Jewish architects depended largely on their relationships with their professional networks, they also actively decided how to utilize those networks to resist the Nazis and to ensure their survival. This research shows that interpersonal relationships and wartime networks were consequential in determining the wartime fates of Jewish architects and also shaped the profession’s post-war structure.Before 1939, Jewish architects were active members of their profession, participating in domestic and international architectural networks and contributing to the built environment of Polish cities. From the mid-1930s, however, intensifying antisemitism and far-right political forces pressured architectural networks to exclude Jews from professional unions. The start of the Second World War and the German occupation in 1939 strained professional architectural networks but led to the formation of underground workshops, cooperatives, and other groups, whose connections extended from Warsaw through the camps and ghettos of occupied Poland. This article presents the history of Jewish-Polish architects from 1937 to 1945. Demonstrating how architectural networks reacted to changing conditions of war, occupation, and genocide, it emphasizes architectural networks as sites of political engagement, ranging from prewar antisemitic attacks on Jews and their removal from the Society of Polish Architects (SARP) to underground architectural networks that hid Jews and allowed them to work. Although the fate of Jewish architects depended largely on their relationships with their professional networks, they also actively decided how to utilize those networks to resist the Nazis and to ensure their survival. This research shows that interpersonal relationships and wartime networks were consequential in determining the wartime fates of Jewish architects and also shaped the profession’s post-war structure.Before 1939, Jewish architects were active members of their profession, participating in domestic and international architectural networks and contributing to the built environment of Polish cities. From the mid-1930s, however, intensifying antisemitism and far-right political forces pressured architectural networks to exclude Jews from professional unions. The start of the Second World War and the German occupation in 1939 strained professional architectural networks but led to the formation of underground workshops, cooperatives, and other groups, whose connections extended from Warsaw through the camps and ghettos of occupied Poland. This article presents the history of Jewish-Polish architects from 1937 to 1945. Demonstrating how architectural networks reacted to changing conditions of war, occupation, and genocide, it emphasizes architectural networks as sites of political engagement, ranging from prewar antisemitic attacks on Jews and their removal from the Society of Polish Architects (SARP) to underground architectural networks that hid Jews and allowed them to work. Although the fate of Jewish architects depended largely on their relationships with their professional networks, they also actively decided how to utilize those networks to resist the Nazis and to ensure their survival. This research shows that interpersonal relationships and wartime networks were consequential in determining the wartime fates of Jewish architects and also shaped the profession’s post-war structure

Проекты Нового краеведения в неофициальной истории города: опыт Санкт-Петербурга

The problem of interpreting local history is relevant to St. Petersburg, as to many other major historical cities. This article examines phenomena united by the concepts of local (spatial) myth and urban narrative, which go beyond official discourse. Alternative images of the city, based on its concealed places of interest contrast with one of the most widespread representations of St. Petersburg – its association with the heritage of imperial culture. The selection of memorable places and stories shifts from recognizable city landmarks to other objects that reveal the history and image of particular St. Petersburg sites, people’s daily lives and peripheral issues of urban life. This approach to the exploration of urban space, a phenomenon called New Local History, is presented and explained in the article as the rediscovery of the historical potential of the city. The examples given in the article also show the possible role of New Local History in encouraging residents to develop an interest in their own history, in the problems of modernity and in participating in socially significant projects. Trends in interaction with urban space and memory practices that offer alternative interpretations of the past have been identified in various socio-cultural initiatives. In the context of Russian memory politics, this approach often becomes oppositional.The problem of interpreting local history is relevant to St. Petersburg, as to many other major historical cities. This article examines phenomena united by the concepts of local (spatial) myth and urban narrative, which go beyond official discourse. Alternative images of the city, based on its concealed places of interest contrast with one of the most widespread representations of St. Petersburg – its association with the heritage of imperial culture. The selection of memorable places and stories shifts from recognizable city landmarks to other objects that reveal the history and image of particular St. Petersburg sites, people’s daily lives and peripheral issues of urban life. This approach to the exploration of urban space, a phenomenon called New Local History, is presented and explained in the article as the rediscovery of the historical potential of the city. The examples given in the article also show the possible role of New Local History in encouraging residents to develop an interest in their own history, in the problems of modernity and in participating in socially significant projects. Trends in interaction with urban space and memory practices that offer alternative interpretations of the past have been identified in various socio-cultural initiatives. In the context of Russian memory politics, this approach often becomes oppositional.The problem of interpreting local history is relevant to St. Petersburg, as to many other major historical cities. This article examines phenomena united by the concepts of local (spatial) myth and urban narrative, which go beyond official discourse. Alternative images of the city, based on its concealed places of interest contrast with one of the most widespread representations of St. Petersburg – its association with the heritage of imperial culture. The selection of memorable places and stories shifts from recognizable city landmarks to other objects that reveal the history and image of particular St. Petersburg sites, people’s daily lives and peripheral issues of urban life. This approach to the exploration of urban space, a phenomenon called New Local History, is presented and explained in the article as the rediscovery of the historical potential of the city. The examples given in the article also show the possible role of New Local History in encouraging residents to develop an interest in their own history, in the problems of modernity and in participating in socially significant projects. Trends in interaction with urban space and memory practices that offer alternative interpretations of the past have been identified in various socio-cultural initiatives. In the context of Russian memory politics, this approach often becomes oppositional.The problem of interpreting local history is relevant to St. Petersburg, as to many other major historical cities. This article examines phenomena united by the concepts of local (spatial) myth and urban narrative, which go beyond official discourse. Alternative images of the city, based on its concealed places of interest contrast with one of the most widespread representations of St. Petersburg – its association with the heritage of imperial culture. The selection of memorable places and stories shifts from recognizable city landmarks to other objects that reveal the history and image of particular St. Petersburg sites, people’s daily lives and peripheral issues of urban life. This approach to the exploration of urban space, a phenomenon called New Local History, is presented and explained in the article as the rediscovery of the historical potential of the city. The examples given in the article also show the possible role of New Local History in encouraging residents to develop an interest in their own history, in the problems of modernity and in participating in socially significant projects. Trends in interaction with urban space and memory practices that offer alternative interpretations of the past have been identified in various socio-cultural initiatives. In the context of Russian memory politics, this approach often becomes oppositional