[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_image=”https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Jurney-to-Southern-cover-E.jpg” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” background_image=”https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Monument-vs.-Dilapidation.png” background_size=”contain” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”350px” max_height=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}” background__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”|auto|28px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||15px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ module_class=”second-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb url=”\/lectures\/” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”H||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”24px” _builder_version=”4.16″ body_font=”|700|||||||” link_option_url=”\/lectures\/” icon_font_size=”24px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” body_text_color__hover=”rgba(29,39,49,0.7)”]Back to Lectures[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Pre-header message” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||15px||false|false” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfcHJlLWhlYWRlcl9tZXNzYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Lecture Topic Heading” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_text_color=”#8e794c” max_width_tablet=”90%” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”off|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||62px|||” custom_padding=”||30px||false|false” module_alignment_last_edited=”off|tablet” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#dbd3d8″ text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDE+In19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” width=”100%” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
This story illustrates how activating the theme of a significant past, in old urban districts, places both space and residents in a state of uncertainty. Using the cases of Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk\u2014two cities in Eastern Siberia with a combined population of nearly two million\u2014we will examine the competing discourses surrounding the past of several historic neighborhoods that have become arenas of local “memory wars.” These discourses are shaped, on one side, by the local “urban political regime” and, on the other, by the residents of areas that powerful groups seek to claim. Both acknowledge that the contested space represents the past, yet they frame it differently: the former seeks to devalue it by labeling it “dilapidation,” while the latter enhances its significance by calling it “heritage.” The dominant narrative in this struggle determines the future of urban space: what is classified as dilapidated is demolished, whereas what is recognized as “cultural heritage” is preserved and protected. The final decision is typically made by state-accredited experts, who have the authority to formalize one interpretation of the past over another. These experts can delegate their power to actors with significant social or financial capital. The latter work to establish their preferred version of collective memory\u2014whether as a “monument” or a “crumbling ruin”\u2014through legal battles, media campaigns, and, at times, bribery, intimidation, and violence. Analyzing these urban “memory wars” allows us to see the Post-Soviet Siberian city as a text, in which “historical” space becomes a fluid signifier, and “history” itself emerges as one of the ways to legitimize power over it.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb title=”About the speaker” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Dmitry Timoshkin<\/strong> is a social anthropologist from Russia. His academic background focuses on marginalized communities in post-Soviet cities as agents of social action. His doctoral dissertation, based on years of participant observation, explores the everyday lives of informal industrial climbing crews composed of labor migrants, former convicts, and students in a Siberian city. Ajarn Dmitry currently works as a visiting expert at the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology at Thammasat University in Bangkok. He also teaches at the Department of Digital Technologies in Creative Industries at Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk and conducts research on marginalized groups in post-socialist Siberian cities at the Center for Theoretical and Applied Political Science at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration in Moscow.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ module_class=”first-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#4e4e4d” custom_padding=”40px|40px|40px|40px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”|40px||40px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_main_element=”margin-bottom: 50px;” border_width_top=”4px” border_color_top=”#8e794c” border_width_bottom=”2px” border_color_bottom=”#8e794c” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”When” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Thursday, 24 April 2025 at 19:00<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Where” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9sb2NhdGlvbiIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwiZW5hYmxlX2h0bWwiOiJvbiJ9fQ==@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Admission” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfYWRtaXNzaW9uIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”For more information, please contact” icon_placement=”left” module_class=”contact-on-dark” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” body_link_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” body_link_text_color__hover=”#81bbc3″]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9lbnF1aXJ5X2NvbnRhY3QiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImVuYWJsZV9odG1sIjoib24ifX0=@[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_color=”#eff1f3″ custom_margin=”||-27px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”More Upcoming Trips” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”23px||31px||false|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.25.1″ global_colors_info=”{}”]More upcoming lectures<\/h2>\n