Reviving Heritage in Post-Soviet Eastern Europe: A Visual Approach To National Identity

Abstract

This paper seeks to demonstrate the controversial nature of heritage as it is expressed through visual media in the former Soviet republics. I explore Soviet-era emblems of cultural heritage in a post-Soviet context specifically to illuminate their influence on national identity. Drawing from imagery in the Baltic States, Belarus, and Ukraine I demonstrate how today’s lingering symbols of communist nationalism obscure the realization of national identity from being completely non-Soviet. Examples such as Grutas Park, Freedom Square and Minsk’s steadfast urban design illustrate how remembrance of the Soviet past through visual media poses a social conflict to transitional change in Eastern Europe.