The Russian-speaking populations in the post-Soviet space: language, politics and identity

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Identity, memory, temporality and discourse: the evolving discursive positions of Latvia's Russian-speakers

This thesis examines how discourses are utilised by media and political elites to construct, propagate, and alter national and ethnic identities. It uses Latvia as a case study, focusing on the construction of ‘Russian-speaking’ identity from the late Soviet period to the present. A central aim of this research is to study how discursive constructions of identity are created, and to what extent media and politicians are able to influence such constructions. In order to meaningfully assess the extent of multiple influences over discursive production and consumption this research employs a triangulated approach, using data from focus groups, elite interviews with Latvian politicians, survey data, and discourse analysis of the Latvian press. This has allowed for a fuller examination and assessment of top-down and bottom-up influences and pressures on identity creation and how these are interrelated. Previously conducted research on ethnopolitical identities in Latvia has revealed how collective memories, interpretations of the Soviet past, post-Soviet state-building policies, and issues surrounding language usage are all heavily politicised and used to demarcate the boundaries between the ‘core nation’ (Latvians) on the one hand, and ‘Russian-speakers’ on the other. Accordingly, this research explores how the constructions of these positions are negotiated, propagated, intensified, or mitigated through discursive practices, as manifested in media, political, or personal discourses. This research is concerned with the temporally contingent nature of discourses and as such, considers multiple eras, rather than a single de-contextualised and static time period, to investigate how discourses have evolved in the Latvian context. By comparing discursive productions from the late Soviet period with those of the present, it has been possible to examine how certain discursive positions have become meaningfully embedded within popularly conceived notions of identity. It has also facilitated a study of discursive strategies by people who attempt to represent Russian-speakers in the media and political spaces. This research argues that discourses are firmly rooted in the past, even if their contemporary form differs greatly from that of the past

Horizontal citizenship in Estonia: Russian speakers in the borderland city of Narva

This paper critically interrogates the notion of ‘citizenship’ from the politically-charged perspective of Russian speakers in Estonia. Drawing on a broad range of critical citizenship literatures, and ethnographic examples from the borderland city of Narva, we propose re- and de-centring citizenship away from universalising conceptions, towards a historically and culturally grounded horizontal perspective on citizenship. While cognisant of dominant, state-centric approaches in Estonia, we present citizenship as a process unfolding through individual, everyday practices of belonging. We demonstrate how Russian speakers, excluded from membership in the Estonian community, can still become members in many less-formal ways, through vibrant interaction with local space

Identity and integration of Russian speakers in the Baltic states: a framework for analysis

Following a review of current scholarship on identity and integration patterns of Russian speakers in the Baltic states, this article proposes an analytical framework to help understand current trends. Rogers Brubaker's widely employed triadic nexus is expanded to demonstrate why a form of Russian-speaking identity has been emerging, but has failed to become fully consolidated, and why significant integration has occurred structurally but not identificationally. By enumerating the subfields of political, economic, and cultural ‘stances’ and ‘representations’ the model helps to understand the complicated integration processes of minority groups that possess complex relationships with ‘external homelands’, ‘nationalizing states’ and ‘international organizations’. Ultimately, it is argued that socio-economic factors largely reduce the capacity for a consolidated identity; political factors have a moderate tendency to reduce this capacity, whereas cultural factors generally increase the potential for a consolidated group identity

Russian soft power in Ukraine: A structural perspective

In this article, I adopt a structural approach to Russian soft power, switching focus from the supposed agent of power (Russia), towards the subjects of power (Ukrainians). I outline the applicability of this approach to empirical studies into soft power, demonstrating how soft power can be examined from bottom-up, discursively-focused perspectives. The empirical analysis then traces how Ukrainians (do not) link their self-identities to discursive understanding of “Russia”. Reviewing recent insights into the relationship between soft power and affect, I argue that Ukrainians' cultural, historical and linguistic ties with Russia often lack necessary emotional force to generate meaningful soft power

Latvia’s ‘Russian left’: trapped between ethnic, socialist, and social-democratic identities

This chapter explores the responses of Latvia's left wing parties to the 2008 economic crisis. It is argued that, because Latvia's political spectrum can be characterised in terms of ethnic, rather than ideological, cleavages, the responses of the country’s radical left have been heavily constrained by ethnic considerations that are peculiar to Latvia’s post-Soviet political environment. The conflation of ethnic and ideological ‘leftness’ explains the ultimate failure of leftist parties to gain wider political and social traction in Latvia. Crucially, it has almost entirely prevented the country’s extant radical left from moving beyond its communist roots and articulating an anti-austerity message that could transcend ethnic cleavages

Relational area studies: Russia and geographies of knowledge

Despite valid criticisms that Area Studies is premised on geopolitical, orientalising, and Eurocentric logics, we advocate for the more critically aware and reflexive potential of Relational Area Studies. By this, we mean that the study of external spaces and areas should always be accompanied by critical efforts to examine internal processes of knowledge production. We therefore build upon “Worlding of Geography” approaches to foster an in-between thinking for Area Studies research. This involves examining an area “out there” while simultaneously considering the relational spaces “in here” . Focusing on the illuminating case of Russian Studies, we examine the hierarchies of power and geographies of knowledge associated with scholarly production in and about Russia. We do so by providing an in-depth, comparative analysis of materials in English-language and Russian-language scholarly journals. The results of this empirical study help us reflect on the “commonsensical” practices, assumptions, and frameworks that often go unchecked in mainstream western scholarship. From our “in here” - “out there” perspective, we use these findings to pose awkward questions about our biases and privileges within global hierarchies of power and geographies of knowledge. Ultimately, we believe this type of relational engagement helps us enrich, decolonise, and rethink our own scholarly practices. Area Studies, we argue, should learn from the insights of critical geography and should be one of the foremost venues for this type of vibrant, reflexive, and critical engagement. Our framework helps us move beyond binary conceptualisations of the Global North/South and East/West by including careful consideration of the "in-between" spaces and relational knowledge flows that accompany all global knowledge. We also include a few preliminary notes on the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the applicability of our approach to future scholarship of Russia, but also how the war challenges some of our core assumptions

Consumption, identity and integration in Estonia and Latvia

Abritant les plus grandes communautés de russophones et de Russes ethniques au sein de l’Union européenne, les républiques baltes ont attiré l’attention de nombreux universitaires et spécialistes du sujet de l’intégration des minorités nationales et leur capacité limitée d’intégrer les minorités russes. Pourtant, le point de départ de cet article est que les dimensions politiques et celles relevant des interactions économiques du quotidien peuvent être considérées séparément. Par conséquent, la limitation des droits politiques pour une partie de la population ne se reflète pas expressément dans la vie quotidienne, en tout cas pas dans celle de tous les russophones, qui sont peut-être mieux intégrés que l’on le présente habituellement. Particulièrement dans la jeune génération, il n’y a pas de sentiment de retourner « chez soi » quand ils visitent la Russie, mais plutôt celui d’appartenir à un entre-deux. De façon intéressante, cette attitude semble s’accompagner d’un rapport biaisé à l’État qui est à la fois brimant en termes politiques et peu respectueux de la langue et de la culture russe, mais aussi reconnaissant des opportunités économiques qu’il offre par rapport à la Russie.With the largest Russian-speaking and ethnic Russian minorities in the EU, the Baltic republics have attracted attention from numerous academics and specialists with an interest in the subject of minority integration and the limited capacity for integrating Russian minorities. The initial premise for this article, however, is that the political dimensions and those relating to ordinary economic interactions can be considered separately. Consequently, the limitations on the political rights of part of the population are not expressly reflected in daily life, at least not among all Russian-speakers, who may in fact be better integrated than prevailing opinion suggests. Among the younger generation especially, there is no sense of “going back home” when they visit Russia, but rather a sense of belonging somewhere in between. Interestingly, this attitude seems to go together with a bias against the State, seen as politically oppressive and with little regard for the Russian language and culture, but also with recognition of the economic opportunities it offers compared to Russia

Consommation, identité et intégration en Estonie et en Lettonie

With the largest Russian-speaking and ethnic Russian minorities in the EU, the Baltic republics have attracted attention from numerous academics and specialists with an interest in the subject of minority integration and the limited ability to integrate Russian minorities. The initial premise for this article, however, is that the political dimensions and those relating to ordinary economic interactions can be considered separately. Consequently, the limitations on the political rights of part of the population are not expressly reflected in daily life, at least not among all Russian-speakers, who may in fact be better integrated than prevailing opinion suggests. Among the younger generation especially, there is no sense of “going back home” when they visit Russia, but rather a sense of belonging somewhere in between. Interestingly, this attitude seems to go together with a bias against the state, seen as politically oppressive and as having little regard for the Russian language and culture, but also with recognition of the economic opportunities it offers compared to Russia

National Identity for Breakfast : Food Consumption and the Everyday Construction of National Narratives in Estonia

Political debates on the Baltics, and in particular Estonia, have often pointed to "nationalisting" and exclusive narratives constructed at the institutional level. Accordingly, emphasis has been put on the lack of opportunities for Russians to integrate into an Estonian context. While acknowledging the shortfalls of the Estonian political project, this article contrasts these views in two ways. By emphasizing people's agency and their capacity to question, contrast, or even reject the identity markers proposed by Estonian official narratives, we maintain that the integration of Russians might be more advanced than insofar claimed by other studies. We then look at the way identities are lived in an everyday context by inhabitants of Estonia to counterpose national narratives proposed by the state and its political institutions, with the way people live and whether they accept these narratives. By doing this, we explore the role of the everyday in the reconstruction of national identity narratives, in which citizens actively participate in their individual capacity. We suggest that, from a James Scott "infrapolitics" perspective, these micro-actions have a fundamental role in the reshaping of a national identity and its acceptance among citizens.Peer reviewe