MEDIATED POST-SOVIET NOSTALGIA Ekaterina Kalinina MEDIATED POST-SOVIET NOSTALGIA Ekaterina Kalinina Södertörns högskola © Ekaterina Kalinina 2014 Södertörn University SE-141 89 Huddinge Cover Image: Olcay Yalçın Cover and content layout: Per Lindblom & Jonathan Robson Printed by Elanders, Stockholm 2014 Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 98 ISSN 1652-7399 ISBN 978-91-87843-08-2 ISBN 978-91-87843-09-9 (digital) Abstract Post-Soviet nostalgia, generally understood as a sentimental longing for the Soviet past, has penetrated deep into many branches of Russian popular culture in the post-1989 period. The present study investigates how the Soviet past has been mediated in the period between 1991 and 2012 as one element of a prominent structure of feeling in present-day Russian culture. The Soviet past is represented through different mediating arenas – cultural domains and communicative platforms in which meanings are created and circulated. The mediating arenas examined in this study include television, the Internet, fashion, restaurants, museums and the- atre. The study of these arenas has identified common ingredients which are elements of a structure of feeling of the period in question. At the same time, the research shows that the representations of the past vary with the nature of the medium and the genre. The analysis of mediations of the Soviet past in Russian contemporary culture reveals that there has been a change in the representations of the Soviet past during the past twenty years, which roughly correspond to the two decades marked by the presidencies of Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and of Vladimir Putin in the 2000s (including Dmitrii Medvedev’s term, 2008–2012). The critical and reflective component that was present in representations of the Soviet past in the 1990s has slowly faded away, making room first for more commercial and then for political exploita- tions of the past. Building on Svetlana Boym’s conceptual framework of reflective and restorative nostalgia, the present study provides an illustration of how reflective nostalgia is being gradually supplanted by restorative nostalgia. Academic research has provided many definitions of nostalgia, from strictly medical explanations to more psychological and socio-cultural perspectives. The present study offers examples of how nostalgia func- tions as a label in ascribing political and cultural identities to oneself and to others, creating confusion about the term and about what and who can rightly be called nostalgic. Keywords: structure of feeling, nostalgia, memory, past, Russia, Post-Soviet, mediation, television, fashion, internet, theatre, museums, restaurants. Acknowledgements It has been a long and challenging four and a half years with many ups and downs. It has not been smooth, but never boring either. Even the long working hours, uneven schedule, and high pressure could never make me regret my choice of an academic career, because besides the pressure and hard work, there will always be a seductive feeling of freedom – the freedom to do what you like and to say what you think. The opportunity for free thinking and free expression was provided by the premises and academic framework of the Baltic and Eastern European Graduate School (BEEGS) and the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, which financed my work, by the Department of Media and Communication at Södertörn University, which granted me several research fellowships, by the Helge Ax:son Johnson Foundation, which provided me with a grant to spend time at Copenhagen University, by Aarhus University, which made my three months’ stay in Aarhus possible, and by the Swedish Institute, which financed my field work in Moscow. To write an academic work is a complex, painful but exciting task which inevitably leaves one feeling lost every now and then. The journey would have never been possible without the guidance of my supervisors, Johan Fornäs and Staffan Ericsson, in navigating the research battlefields. They made me believe in the light at the end of the dark tunnel. They were not only my academic mentors, but also became my good friends and colleagues, ready to support me in time of hardship. It is always good to get away for a while to plunge into another academic environment in order to get a fresh perspective on what you are doing. Two such escapes were my stays at Copenhagen and Aarhus uni- versities, Denmark, and one at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia. I thank Frederik Tygstrup, Martin Glaz Serup and Nanna Bonde Thylstrup for having me at Copenhagen Univeristy. I am very grateful to have been able to be part of and to have benefitted from the excellent and inspiring academic environment provided by Aarhus University. Special thanks go to Britta Tim Knudsen, Rosa Magnusdottir, Anne Marit Waade, Birgit Eriksson, and Kristina Jerne for reading and commenting on chapters of this book, as well as for making my stay an enjoyable 5 experience. I express my gratitude to Marina Mikhailovna Pavlikova for hosting me at Moscow State University. I would also like to express my gratitude to Per Bolin, Helene Carlbäck, Anu-Mai Köll, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, Teresa Kulawik, Ulrika Dahl, Charlotte Bydler, Ninna Mörner and Rebecka Letteval for keeping BEEGS and CBEES alive. Thank you, Lena Arvidson, Nina Cajhamre, Ewa Rogström, Karin Lindebrant and Emel Akköz, for being such a fantastic team, always there to help solve all the issues that give an academic goose bumps. Special thanks go to Dace Lageborg and Michal Bron, who turned nightmarish library experiences into easily accomplished tasks. My sincere gratitude goes to my colleagues at the Media and Communication Department, who have made our institution into an inspiring and open- minded environment where everyone feels that his or her presence and contribution is highly appreciated. I am grateful to our administrative personnel who were always there to solve financial and administrative riddles. Special thanks also go to Lena Casado for being ready to stand up for us in never-ending bureaucratic battles. I am very grateful to Olcay Yalçın for his friendship and technical support, not least in making this cover and posters for the defence. I am especially indebted to my opponents, Irina Sandormirskaja and Karin Becker, who read my drafts and challenged me to produce a better text and not to be afraid of saying what I think. Special thanks to Hillevi Ganetz for being such an inspiration in the academic world and a true enthusiast. The job of finding informants was the core of this dissertation and it would never have been possible without Olga Voronova, Ludmila Christeseva, Anton Tajiev and Nikolai Vasilievich Zadorozhnyi. I am thankful to my informants, who generously and open-heartedly shared their knowledge and contacts with me. Without their valuable input and sincere desire to contribute to the process of academic investigation I would not have been able to produce this work. They allowed me to see cultural developments in more bright and sharp colours. This long academic journey has made me realise that there is nothing more valuable in life than true friends who love you even when they do not like you. I am so happy to have you in my life, Irina Seits, Ekaterina Andreeva, Ekaterina Chernousova, Elizaveta Shagina. Who would have thought that I would actually board this train called doctoral studies! I want to express special gratitude to Anna Ivannikova, who patiently 6 hosted me during my long field trips in Moscow and passionately engaged with my work. Tatiana Shuleshgko and Julia Dernova were always there for me and never said no to spending a nice relaxing day in the spa, which was a crucial escape from hard work! Thank you, Arba Murati, Eralda Vahidi and Khaldoun Dudin for bringing so much laughter and hap- piness into my life. You made me into a true cosmopolitan who looks at the world with her eyes wide open and dares to do what she wants. To go through the difficulties of the last year of work on this thesis would have been impossible without two dear people, Nasser Naje and Ferdinand Choong. You were my shoulders to cry on and my best buddies to hang out with. I thank Ferdinand for being truly pedagogical during the long training sessions and patient when I refused to follow his lead. I have no words to express my gratitude to Nasser for believing in me. I express my gratitude to Kjetil Duvold for fascinating long discussions and wine, reading and commenting on my draft chapters and recommending great books and articles while preparing the best meals in the world. My sincere gratitude goes to my fellow doctoral students Ekaterina Tarasova, Francesco Zavatti, Marco Nase, Iveta Jurkane, Katarina Weselovski, Natalia Jukunsheva, Marija Saar, Florence Fröhlig, Yuliya Yurchuk, Péter Balogh, Signe Opermann, Anne Kaun, Linus Andersson, Fredrik Stiernstedt, Peter Jakobsson, Carina Guyard, Julia Velkova, Jaakko Turunen and David Birksjö. I am especially thankful to my colleague and friend Liudmila Voronova, who bravely engaged in all our crazy side projects as my greatest inspiration and support. She became my closest accomplice, and hopefully will remain so in the years to come, because our future projects will be legendary! I dedicate this work to my family and especially to my mother Olga Kalinina, the most wonderful person in my life, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you for being the best mom in the world, making me believe in myself and being my unconditional support. September 2014, Stockholm 7 Contents 1. Introduction 13 1.1. Background 13 1.2. Aims and Research Questions 18 1.3. Previous Research 20 1.4. Structure of This Dissertation 24 2. Theoretical Framework 25 2.1. Structure of Feeling 25 2.2. Memory, Identity and Mediation 29 2.2.1.