Cooperative Borderlands: Trafficking Values and Waste Across Nesting Boundaries in Russian Karelia by Kateryna Pashkovska A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Alberta © Kateryna Pashkovska, 2017 Abstract In my dissertation, I explore the sense of place and the local identity in Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation. We are aware of the geographical and political borders, of those visible dividing lines on the map that insulate ethnic groups and nation states. At the same time, the social and cultural boundaries are harder to notice – they emerge through the sense of discomfort of conflict which signals that an invisible boundary has been crossed. In my research, I address the instances of such boundary crossings in a larger context of local urban life through the ethnographic approach of flânerie as well as through a case study of a joint Russian- Finnish project supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers, W.A.S.T.E.: Waste Awareness, Treatment, Education that was realized in Petrozavodsk from 2011 to 2013. I build a dialogue between social spaces divided by ‘nesting’ (Russian doll-like) borders that are in/congruent with territorial/political borderlines. I attempt to bring together the two approaches to the study of contemporary borders: the more traditional geographical and political approach to borders and an anthropological perspective that stresses the dynamic nature of the border. ii Preface This thesis is an original work by Kateryna Pashkovska. Field research required for this project received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “International Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region through Joint Social Programs Targeted at Karelian Youth,” study ID Pro00014993, last renewed on 13 October 2015. My studies and research were generously funded by the Provost Entrance Scholarship through the University of Alberta (2008-2010); by the Department of Anthropology (2010- 2016) including a pilot trip to my field site in 2009, fieldwork travel grant in 2010, a travel grant to attend a conference in Luxembourg in 2016 and a write-up grant in 2016; by Circumpolar/Boreal Alberta research through Canadian Circumpolar Institute (2010- 2012); by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research travel grant in 2016; and finally, although indirectly, my writing greatly benefited from childcare grants that I received from the Graduate Students Association, UofA. iii Acknowledgements Over all those years that I spent on my doctoral program, the department of Anthropology here at the UofA became my true home. It is a bright flash in my memory – meeting Dr. Lisa Philips, the then head of the department, for the first time, on a bright sunny day in June 2008. An accomplished linguistic anthropologist, she was brightening the whole 13th anthropology floor with smiles of encouragement, subtle humor and always impeccable style. Under her guidance, I made my first steps as a newly born anthropologist, converted from Linguistics and Folklore Studies. I am very thankful to Lisa for her friendship and support beyond limits, whenever I needed it. Classes taken from Dr. Marko Zivkovic instilled in me even more enthusiasm for the ‘anthropological worldview,’ however it is defined, for handling robust theories with ease and grace, aikido-style, in which Marko is a Master. When he took over as my supervisor in December 2014, there were way too many occasions when I came to him for help, his help was always granted to me in the most caring and nonjudgmental manner. My deep gratitude goes to my supervisory committee: Dr. Andie Palmer (department of Anthropology), who has always inspired me with her zealous devotion to the defence of indigenous land rights; Dr. Mark Nuttall (department of Anthropology), who through his masterful stories first fascinated me with the North as a region, way of life and a passion; Dr. Rob Shields (department of Sociology), who got on board right on time to look at my arguments with fresh eyes and a friendly challenge of the whole construction of my argument, which I thankfully appreciate; the Chair, Dr. Joseph Hill, who has been a supportive and friendly colleague and job supervisor, making my life as a teaching assistant joyful, and the external reader, Dr. Chiara Brambilla, who left a lasting impression on me after hearing her talk on Borderscapes at the Interdisciplinary Concept Symposium, University of Luxembourg. I am very thankful to Dr. Brambilla for her careful reading of my work, her generous feedback and helpful suggestions for improvement. My research would have not come to life but for all of those wonderfully open-hearted and professional people who I met in Petrozavodsk, their considerate help in giving me access to information about projects, budgets, and other details about cross-border iv cooperation that has been happening in Karelia on quite a large scale. My deep thanks go to all my interviewees and informants, casual acquaintances, government employees, mothers with children who became my much-appreciated research group, new friends and respectable colleagues – all of you have contributed to the richness of material that I was able to gather to make this work happen. Those who had to bear with me most, my loving family – thank you for believing in me even in the darkest times. My super-mom and mega supportive dad invested so much in me during those years. Roman Ravve was of huge help at the field data collection stage, which was essential and allowed me to build the base for the arguments in this thesis. Ruslan Bergenov was my caring and true brother-in-arms at the writing stage, my IT savior when everything breaks and the work disappeared. My devoted friends from four countries – Ukraine, Russia, USA and Canada – I bow down before you in love and gratitude. And finally, my deepest gratitude is saved for my two children, Natan Artur Ravve and Azalia Ravve, whose pure love, acceptance and hope led me through my bright and dark days, who were the ultimate means and reason my research went in the direction it did, and to be finally completed. v Table of Contents Cooperative Borderlands: Trafficking Values and Waste Across Nesting Boundaries in Russian Karelia .......... i Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface .........................................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................x PART I. .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction. ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1.................................................................................................................................................. 2 Researchers’ identity: half-native mother-anthropologist with a baby in the field. .................................... 2 1.1. Mothering, getting data, getting pregnant: juggling field identities. ............................................... 2 1.2. Going native to some degree: a Ukrainian citizen in the postsocialist Russian Karelia. .................. 11 Chapter 2................................................................................................................................................ 17 Conceptual frames and contribution to the field. .................................................................................... 17 2.1. Through the lens of postsocialism. ............................................................................................... 18 2.2. Making sense of borders, boundaries, borderscapes and borderlands. ......................................... 20 2.3. A fractals/nesting concept in Anthropology .................................................................................. 23 2.4. Spatiality and the sense of place. ................................................................................................. 26 2.5. The gender lenses. ....................................................................................................................... 27 2.6. Why waste? The change of my initially intended target group. ..................................................... 28 PART II. ....................................................................................................................................................... 33 Visible PTZ. ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 3................................................................................................................................................ 34 Exploring urban social spaces.................................................................................................................