Ethno-nationalism, asymmetric federalism and Soviet perceptions of the past: (World) heritage activism in the Russian Federation

Abstract

Despite covering most of the Eurasian continent and recently reclaiming its position as a geopolitical heavyweight, the (world) heritage agenda of the Russian Federation remains relatively unexplored. In an effort to fill this gap, this paper seeks to uncover some of the main threads that define the politics of historical sites in Russia through contextualising Russia’s most recent addition to World Heritage Site: the archaeological site of Bolgar (Federal Republic of Tatarstan). Within this exercise, specific attention will be given to the ideological pathways, asymmetric power relations and shifting geopolitical alignments that define the sociocultural dimensions of the site. Popular heritage themes such as ethno-nationalism, post-colonialism, neo-liberalism, representational practices and branding will be scrutinised. Besides contributing to the globalisation project that is expediting the theoretical maturing of heritage studies, at the end of the paper some theoretical opportunities will briefly be explored. This paper concludes that heritage in Russia is far from neutral, and that international heritage organisations and researchers involved in Russia have more consideration for foster reflexivity about their actions and particular position in relation to governmental institutions. Cultural remains are important political commodities in Putin’s asymmetrical federation. Especially now that the sector has evolved into a multi-million business, the integrity of heritage practitioners is threatened.

Anthropological Archaeology in 2015: Entanglements, Reflection, Reevaluation, and Archaeology beyond Disciplinary Boundaries

“…Heritage management, governance, diplomacy, and collaboration with indigenous communities have become increasingly important as global power shifts in relation to economic and political changes (Clark and Anderson ; Gfeller ; Human ; Ireland and Schofield ; Plets ; Robinson and Silverman ; Winter ). Tim Winter () argues that because cultural heritage is being appropriated by commercial and political interests all over the world, at the same time that UNESCO is experiencing a reduction in capacity, heritage diplomacy is ever more important.…”

“…Tim Winter () argues that because cultural heritage is being appropriated by commercial and political interests all over the world, at the same time that UNESCO is experiencing a reduction in capacity, heritage diplomacy is ever more important. International heritage organizations and practitioners are becoming increasingly challenged, as exemplified by Gertjan Plets’ work () addressing heritage activism in the Russian Federation.…”

Exceptions to Authoritarianism? Variegated sovereignty and ethno-nationalism in a Siberian resource frontier

“…Instead of seeing corporate behavior as being governed by political institutions, Barkan encourages us to approach corporations and states as ontologically bound, both holding sovereignty and being able to govern the economy, politics, and culture. As such, corporations are also active players that through negotiations with the state effectively produce "permissive spaces" (Cooper-Knock 2018) or "zones of exception" (Ong 2006) where different rules and norms apply.…”

Gridlock: UNESCO, global conflict and failed ambitions

“…At first glance this might look like a post-colonial re-ordering of things. However, the rising dominance of nations like Russia (Plets 2015) and China, plus the fact that no African nation was voted onto the Committee in 2014, tempers that optimism.…”

“…The number of UN member states has grown from fifty-one in 1946 to 193 in 2013. Within the World Heritage Committee one can witness the influence of the BRICS coalition of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Claudi 2011;Meskell 2013Meskell , 2014Plets 2015). These new powers have economies that are likely to rival and then surpass those of Japan, European countries and even the US in the medium term.…”