عنوان

Constructions of the past and trauma in Simferopol, Crimea

Number

TLets488240

Title Proper

Constructions of the past and trauma in Simferopol, Crimea

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Vogelsang, Ina Barbara

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Manchester : University of Manchester

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2002

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Manchester : University of Manchester

Text preceding or following the note

2002

Text of Note

This study looks at the constructions of the past in post-Soviet Simferopol, thecapital of Crimea. Revelations about the Soviet period since Perestroika andUkrainian independence resulted in countless and contrasting interpretationsof the past which leaves people to make their own decisions as to where"truth" lies. Literature concerning memory in post-authoritarian states usuallyfocuses on repression and trauma (cf.Hann 1993:11). My study, on the otherhand, tries to integrate the substantial amount of positive memories that werebeing told during my fieldwork.It therefore deals With the question how thesememories can be interpreted in the context of former political repression,social trauma and the gaps in the overall picture. Furthermore, the researcheris confronted With a situation of rapid change (cf. Hann 1994) that influencespeoples' assessment of the present and the past in major ways. Part of whathas been termed "nostalgia" can be seen as a way of resisting social changethat has been too radical for many to follow.The positive portrayal of the pastcan furthermore be connected to the fact that they were directed at me, the'Western" researcher. This is affected by a past of ideological confrontationand present economic and political decline. This thesis thus also addressesreflexive issues concerning the position of the researcher and how thecollection of data and subsequent representation are influenced by variousaudiences. Crimea is said to have a multiplicity of ethnicities, the threestrongest being "Ukrainian", "Russian" and 'Tartar". Looking at genealogies Iargue that these cannot simply be designated as "ethnic" identities but thatone has to take into account the Soviet past of internationalism andnationalities politics. Contentions over the past centre on issues connected tosocial accountability. "Ukrainian" nationalists look at the Soviet past astotalitarian and destructive. In connection with this, their appraisal of thepresent is more positive. 'Tartars" protest at the wholesale deportation of theirpeople by Soviet forces and are trying to claim back their rights as the"original" inhabitants of Crimea. "Russians", on the other hand, fondlyremember the security and stability they perceive to have enjoyed under theSoviet regime. My material shows that to interpret this as the repression offormer trauma, does not do justice to the ways in which the present (socialinsecurity, joblessness, crime, poverty)is at the centre of the reconstruction ofthe past. Nevertheless, public ceremonies commemorating the past as well asmonuments and people's narratives show a concentration in rememberingcertain times more than others closely related to Soviet rhetoric.

Vogelsang, Ina Barbara

University of Manchester : University of Manchester

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

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