- Anthropology of Religion, Anthropology of ethics and morality, Anthropology Of Consumption, Philosophy of Anthropology, Slavic Studies, Russian Studies, Literature and Cultural History of Gulag and Political Repressions In URSS; Literature and Culture of Russian Post-revolutionnary Emigration; Theory of Literature, Economic Anthropology, and 2 moreTransnational migration and Cosmopolitanismedit
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This article discusses migration of Bukharan Jews-an ethnic-religious minority in (post-)Soviet Central Asia-and the establishment of multiconfessional, multi-ethnic Central Asian diaspora in the city of Vienna, Austria. During the Cold... more
This article discusses migration of Bukharan Jews-an ethnic-religious minority in (post-)Soviet Central Asia-and the establishment of multiconfessional, multi-ethnic Central Asian diaspora in the city of Vienna, Austria. During the Cold War period, Vienna was transformed from being a major transit hub for Soviet Jews moving from the USSR to Israel, USA and other destinations to a site of the most numerous and prominent Bukharan Jewish diaspora in Europe. Using the concept of 'migration infrastructure', the article investigates the ways in which this transformation took place. Furthermore, it focuses on Jewish-Muslim interfaces, both in Soviet Uzbekistan and present-day diaspora, to document the ongoing, albeit changing, coexistence and collaboration across ethnic-religious boundaries that facilitate transnational migration. I argue that the Jewish infrastructure, which emerged in Vienna's historically Jewish district of Leopoldstadt in the last decades, has also become a migrant infrastructure for the post-Soviet Tadjik-speaking Muslim migrants from Central Asia.
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Life in the cities of Central Asia has undergone profound changes over the past thirty years. Above all, the extent and constellations of cultural and religious diversity have changed. It is often assumed that the urban space for... more
Life in the cities of Central Asia has undergone profound changes over the past thirty years. Above all, the extent and constellations of cultural and religious diversity have changed. It is often assumed that the urban space for interdependencies and complex forms of coexistence has declined after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The reason is considered to be internal migration from the countryside to the cities and the simultaneous emigration of ethno-religious minorities. The article examines how, against the background of these developments, new forms of diversity have emerged in the urban centres of Central Asia. The focus is on the impact of the diaspora communities of ethnoreligious minorities that have emerged outside the region on their cities of origin in Central Asia.
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One of the common features of post-Soviet Central Asian diapora is its close connection to the homeland (the independent countries of the former Soviet Central Asia) manifested in various economic ties, including investments into kinship... more
One of the common features of post-Soviet Central Asian diapora is its close connection to the homeland (the independent countries of the former Soviet Central Asia) manifested in various economic ties, including investments into kinship networks and business ventures. This research note discusses the transnational Bukharan Jewish diaspora and its links to Uzbekistan that do not fit into this general pattern. Drawing on the history of Bukharan Jews as a ‘go-between’ minority at the time of Russia colonisation of Central Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it investigates the ways in which this structural role has been actualised after the collapse of the USSR and mass emigration of the Bukharan Jews from Central Asia. While the Bukharan Jewish diaspora do not seem to establish new economic lniks to Uzbekstan, the Bukharan Jewish community ogranisaitons strive to become a recognised player in the field of people’s diplomacy.
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In the ethnographic literature on the indigenous peoples of the North, the dwelling has always occupied a prominent position. About the Hearth is a continuation of this longstanding academic interest. The theme of the three Hs—home,... more
In the ethnographic literature on the indigenous peoples of the North, the dwelling has always occupied a prominent position. About the Hearth is a continuation of this longstanding academic interest. The theme of the three Hs—home, hearth, and household—frames a project bringing together scholars from different disciplines: mostly anthropology but also archaeology, museum studies, and historical demography.
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The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian and Ukrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and... more
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian and Ukrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and the ways in which they are deployed and consumed in the overlapping realms of Russian social media, fashion and pop art. Alongside top-down propaganda , a number of folk terms and memes has emerged to designate and stereotype the enemy. One of the key terms and memes is vatnik (a traditional Russian padded cotton jacket of Chinese origin), which was initially used to designate a xenophobic Russian patriot easily brainwashed by the state propaganda. With time, vatnik has become a playground for ironic appropriations that create political commodity brands as well as signal a range of diverse political allegiances present in Russian society. Drawing on the anthropological notion of the assemblage, the paper traces how patriotic branding and the entertainment of stereotyping the enemy unsettle and 'jam' patriotic consumption and identification. Here, vatnik has become a good example of conspicuous patriotic consumption, indicating not only 'expensive wastefulness', but more importantly, the excess of signification attached to this commodity qua brand. The paper argues that while excessive commodification and branding of patriotic images (e.g. leaders, heroes, places, etc.) for mass consumption is indeed very common worldwide, the Russian ironic genre of stiob often appears to be an important technology of (non)patriotic consumption in Russia.
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Based on fieldwork in Nenets tundra encampments and multiethnic villages on the northern Yamal Peninsula, this article discusses people’s experiences and expectations of married life. Two types of marriage—”arranged” and “love... more
Based on fieldwork in Nenets tundra encampments and multiethnic villages on the northern Yamal Peninsula, this article discusses people’s experiences and expectations of married life. Two types of marriage—”arranged” and “love marriage”—are used to illustrate how marriage brings to the fore the political economy of desire and local reflections on the good society. The article suggests that while Soviet ideology and post-Soviet neotraditionalist discourses have endorsed customary attitudes toward arranged Nenets marriage, love marriage including marriage with Russians often leads to a situation in which “love” or “alien romance” is tempered by “reason” rather than relying on a “modern” nuclear family ideal. It argues that tundra marriage, including arranged marriage, is commonly underwritten by subjectively understood chances of leading a good family life.
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This article discusses a vast, new and semi-legal marketplace of shipping containers on the outskirts of Odessa, Ukraine. It is suggested that such markets, which have sprung up at several places in post-socialist space where routes... more
This article discusses a vast, new and semi-legal marketplace of shipping containers on the outskirts of Odessa, Ukraine. It is suggested that such markets, which have sprung up at several places in post-socialist space where routes intersect, have certain features in common with mediaeval trade fairs. However, today's markets have their own specificities in relation to state and legal regimes, migration, and the cities to which they are semi-attached. The article analyzes the Seventh Kilometer Market (Sed'moi) near Odessa as a particular socio-mythical space. It affords it own kind of protection and opportunities to traders, but these structures may be unstable in a changing economic climate.
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Based on fieldwork in Nenets tundra encampments and multiethnic villages on the northern Yamal Peninsula, this article discusses people's experiences and expectations of married life. Two types of marriage—arranged and love marriage—are... more
Based on fieldwork in Nenets tundra encampments and multiethnic villages on the northern Yamal Peninsula, this article discusses people's experiences and expectations of married life. Two types of marriage—arranged and love marriage—are used to illustrate how marriage brings to the fore the political economy of desire and local reflections on the good society. The article suggests that while Soviet ideology and post-Soviet neotraditionalist discourses have endorsed customary attitudes toward arranged Nenets marriage , love marriage including marriage with Russians often leads to a situation in which " love " or " alien romance " is tempered by " reason " rather than relying on a " modern " nuclear family ideal. It argues that tundra marriage, including arranged marriage, is commonly underwritten by subjectively understood chances of leading a good family life.
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The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian and Ukrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and... more
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict [2014-] and concomitant Russian and Ukrainian information wars have given rise to new propaganda languages and images. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the permutations of images of the enemy and the ways in which they are deployed and consumed in the overlapping realms of Russian social media, fashion and pop art. Alongside top-down propaganda , a number of folk terms and memes has emerged to designate and stereotype the enemy. One of the key terms and memes is vatnik (a traditional Russian padded cotton jacket of Chinese origin), which was initially used to designate a xenophobic Russian patriot easily brainwashed by the state propaganda. With time, vatnik has become a playground for ironic appropriations that create political commodity brands as well as signal a range of diverse political allegiances present in Russian society. Drawing on the anthropological notion of the assemblage, the paper traces how patriotic branding and the entertainment of stereotyping the enemy unsettle and 'jam' patriotic consumption and identification. Here, vatnik has become a good example of conspicuous patriotic consumption, indicating not only 'expensive wastefulness', but more importantly, the excess of signification attached to this commodity qua brand. The paper argues that while excessive commodification and branding of patriotic images (e.g. leaders, heroes, places, etc.) for mass consumption is indeed very common worldwide, the Russian ironic genre of stiob often appears to be an important technology of (non)patriotic consumption in Russia.