Of Political Resurrection and ‘Lost Treasures’ in Soviet and Russian Politics

Abstract

Drawing from the central notion in Russian culture of resurrection, and from Hannah Arendt’s concept of political ‘lost treasures’, this article analyses initiatives for democratisation during the Soviet Thaw (1956–1964) and perestroika (1985–1991); and current attempts to recall the legacy of medieval Pskov and Novgorod’s republican institutions. Retrieving memories of civic action matters intellectually and politically because it roots Russian democratisation in alternative national traditions, which, curiously, both Russian democratic activists and Putin supporters dismiss today. The empirical data come from interviews, ethnographic observations, and studies on Russian/Soviet politics and memory.