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Cheskin, Ammon Matthias (2013) Identity, Memory, Temporality and Discourse: the Evolving Discursive Positions of Latvia's Russian-Speakers

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Cheskin, Ammon Matthias (2013) Identity, Memory, Temporality and Discourse: the Evolving Discursive Positions of Latvia's Russian-Speakers Cheskin, Ammon Matthias (2013) Identity, memory, temporality and discourse: the evolving discursive positions of Latvia's Russian-speakers. PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4020/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Identity, memory, temporality and discourse: the evolving discursive positions of Latvia’s Russian-speakers Ammon Matthias Cheskin BA Russian and Politics, MA Interpreting and Translation (Russian), MRes Russian, Central and East European Studies Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD in Russian, Central and East European Studies School of Social and Political Sciences College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow P a g e | 1 Abstract 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. P a g e | 2 Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 5 Publications ....................................................................................................... 8 A note on translations ........................................................................................ 9 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 10 Scope and aims of the study ........................................................................... 11 Why Latvia? ..................................................................................................... 14 Brief literature review of existing research on Russian-speakers in Latvia ...... 18 Thesis overview and structure ......................................................................... 23 Chapter 1: Theoretical framework .......................................................................... 27 Discourse or ‘In the beginning was the Word’ ................................................. 28 Material or ‘In the beginning was the chemically constituted object’ ................ 40 Towards a workable model or ‘In the beginning was it the chicken or the egg?’47 Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 2: Media effects: How media can form national and ethnic identities .. 59 The role of media in the formation of national identities .................................. 60 Media and hegemony ......................................................................................... 71 Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 3: The politicisation of memory: from perestroika to the present......... 76 Collective memory and national identities ....................................................... 77 Organic crisis and the collapse of the Soviet Union ........................................ 85 The emergence of Latvia’s new hegemonic order: Latvian democratisation and nationalism .......................................................................................................... 87 Latvia’s post-Soviet state-building: discourses, myths, and narratives ............... 90 Memory politics, ‘memory wars’, and the trifling problem of Russia(ns) .......... 93 The Popular Front of Latvia: setting the agenda for Latvian nation-building? 104 Analysis of Atmoda: the nation ......................................................................... 105 Learning to work with, and fight against, soviet discourses .............................. 110 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 114 Chapter 4: Media analysis: the Russian-language press and identity formation ................................................................................................................................. 117 Methodology .................................................................................................. 118 The discursive construction of ‘Russian-speakers’ ........................................ 120 Analysing Russian-speaking media discourse .............................................. 128 Anti-discourse ................................................................................................... 129 Synthesis with Latvian discourse ...................................................................... 140 Articulation of counter-narratives ...................................................................... 145 The evolution of Russian-speaking discourse ............................................... 149 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 152 P a g e | 3 Chapter 5: The primacy of politics? The impact of political discourse on identity formation ................................................................................................................ 155 Hegemony, democracy, and the ‘primacy of politics’ ..................................... 156 The Russian Federation and Russian-speaking identity in Latvia ................. 159 Latvian political parties and their discourses ................................................. 170 Latvian state-building policies and their impact upon Russian-speakers ....... 182 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 187 Chapter 6: Examining Russian-speaking identity from below ........................... 190 Methodology .................................................................................................. 191 Focus groups ................................................................................................. 193 Кто Вы? Who are you? ................................................................................... 193 The influence of Russia: politics, culture, and historical memory-myths ........... 198 The influence of Latvia: integrational or anti-discourse? ................................... 205 In search of homeland: finding a legitimate place for Russian-speakers in Latvia .......................................................................................................................... 212 So, do the media matter? .............................................................................. 218 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 220 Chapter 7: The ‘democratisation of history’ and generational change ............. 223 A tale of two histories? .................................................................................. 224 Observing Victory Day in Latvia ...................................................................
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