Otherness in Early Soviet Culture: Gender, Ethnicity, Eccentricity

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

During the formative years of the Soviet state, the cultural project sought to create a unified socialist identity while simultaneously grappling with the complexities of gender, ethnicity, and foreign influence. This panel highlights how those defined as the "other" in early Soviet culture were shaped by, resisted, and adapted to the forces that sought to control their representation, often negotiating their identities within the constraints of state ideology while seeking spaces for personal and collective expression.

Authors, artists, filmmakers, and intellectuals were scrutinized through the lens of Soviet nationalism, either celebrated as exemplars of proletarian struggle or suppressed through increasingly hostile and systematic restriction. Soviet authority utilized women and foreign figures as symbols of inclusivity and ideological purity, creating a complex cultural landscape in which the "other" was both a symbol of revolutionary potential and a subject of ideological control.

Through the interplay of gender, national identity, and foreign influence, early Soviet culture sought to reframe traditional narratives and define the "correct" heroes and heroines of the revolution. Throughout this period of oppression, those labeled as "the other" had to navigate the ever-tightening grip of Soviet authority, often finding ways to adapt, resist, or subtly subvert the state's control over their identities. This panel reflects on how these cultural productions shaped the construction of Soviet identity and how individuals negotiated their identities within a framework that both marginalized and co-opted them.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Kathleen Scollins, U of Vermont

Papers

• The Archive and The Revolution: Shaping Historical Narratives - Eva Zak, Adelphi U

• Defining a New Culture in a New Republic: The Regulation of Udmurt Culture and Literature in the Early Soviet Union - Andrey Ridling, Ohio State U

• Blare of Revolution’s Trumpet: Isadora Duncan in Early Soviet Culture - Elena Yushkova, U of Kentucky

Discussant

• Devin Culley McFadden, U of Vermont