Russian Opposition and Anti-War Movement(s) and Its Intellectual Legacy

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel explores how artists, musicians, and political prisoners engage with themes of state violence, repression, and resistance in modern-day Russia. As authoritarian control intensifies, creative expression becomes a crucial means of documenting suffering and shaping narratives of defiance. One presentation examines how Russian opposition musicians such as Pornofilmy, Monetochka, NoizeMC, and Face use imagery of mutilated bodies and death to metaphorically reflect police brutality and state repression, transforming suffering into a form of resistance. Another speaker analyzes the testimonies of political prisoners (2023–2025), uncovering hidden struggles and coping mechanisms while addressing the ethical challenges of studying prisoners’ personal narratives. A third paper focuses on artist Sasha Skochilenko’s 2022 supermarket protest, contextualizing her act within the leftist populist movements of St. Petersburg’s artist collectives. Finally, the panel explores how Alexei Navalny’s image has evolved in public art following his death in 2024, examining how murals and memorials construct his legacy as a martyr and symbol of resistance. Together, these presentations offer a critical analysis of the intersections between art, activism, and state violence in contemporary Russia, illustrating how cultural expressions continue to challenge repression and shape collective memory.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Diana Avdeeva, Columbia U

Papers

• Songs of Suffering: State Violence, Body, and Death in Russian Opposition Music - Diana Avdeeva, Columbia U

• Letters from Prison: Understanding Contemporary Russia Through Political Prisoners’ Testimonies - Julia Kriventsova Denne, By the Onion Sea

• St. Petersburg Leftist Populism and Sasha Skochilenko’s Protest against the Invasion of Ukraine - Alexandar Mihailovic, Hofstra U

Discussant

• Sidney Eric Dement, Binghamton U