The Futures of Russian Decolonization (20??) Anna Engelhardt. A complicated text, good for reminding that there isn’t a process of decolonization – there are processes of decolonizationS. Towards the end there are notes on infrastructure as a colonial apparatus: “Analyzing colonialism, I propose therefore to aim for its infrastructure, both of domination and resistance to it, following Indian post-colonial feminist researcher Chandra Talpade Mohanty. This infrastructure of domination might be revealed through looking into logistical networks of the empires as they, according to Deborah Cowen, map the logic of contemporary imperialism in spatial materialization. “. Engelhardt own project crimeanbridge.info explores infrastructure/colonization link further. The site is complicated but there are notes on “Railway Imperialism”.
One of the points from post-colonial theory that resonates with post-Soviet space questions the limits of the “post-Soviet” or “post-communist” itself. Arjun Appadurai, a post-colonial scholar of globalization, who is of Indian origin, outlines the West’s “endless preoccupation” with itself. [Vitaly] Chernetsky adds to Appadurai’s statement: “whether positive or negative value judgments are attached,” meaning that Western scholars tend to either praise the West or criticize it, but never speak about other geographies and contexts—so the West will always remain the center of attention. Looking at Soviet modernization and its consequences, we see a similar preoccupation.
It is much easier to be heard if you reference academic figures well-known in the West and make arguments that parallel already established lines of thought associated with Western knowledge production. Ironically, we can think of this tactic as similar to [Gayatri Chakravorty] Spivak’s strategic essentialism—temporary networks of solidarity that appeal to the seemingly universal nature of oppression.
Russian colonialism could be characterized as a settler colonialism, as it combines the features of external and internal colonization, erasing the spatial separation between metropole and colony. Russian colonialism features military colonialism—a sign of external colonialism—with “biopolitical and geopolitical management of people, land, flora and fauna within the ‘domestic’ borders of the imperial nation” of internal colonization ([Eve] Tuck and [Wayne] Yang, 2012).
A Day to Remember (2005) Liu Wei. A simple question yields powerful effects. Remembering the June Fourth Incident.