Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North

490 Pages·2019·7.762 MB·English

by  Joachim Otto Habeck

Lifestyle in Siberia
J
and the Russian North o
a
c
h
Edited by Joachim Otto Habeck i
m
This book draws on a wide range of theoreti cal perspecti ves
O
– from Chaney and Bourdieu to Berger, Sontag and Bakhti n –
t
and from ideas about nostalgia to theories of consumpti on, t
nati on, and ethnicity. The ethnographic detail in each chapter o
is impressive, and in my view is the real core of the book. It is H
a resource which will be widely used by Russian, Soviet and Lifestyle in Siberia
a
postsocialist specialists, by anthropologists, sociologists and
b
geographers, and by anyone interested in cultural studies, e
material culture and consumpti on, and place and ethnicity. c
k
—Dr. Frances Pine, Goldsmiths, University of London and the Russian North
(
e
Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North breaks new d
ground by exploring the concept of lifestyle from a dis� nctly .)
anthropological perspec� ve. Showcasing the collec� ve
work of ten experienced scholars in the fi eld, the book

goes beyond concepts of tradi� on that have o� en been

the focus of previous research, to explain how poli� cal,

economic and technological changes in Russia have created

a wide range of new possibili� es and constraints in the pursuit
L
of diff erent ways of life.
i
f
Each contribu� on is drawn from me� culous fi rst-hand fi eld e
research, and the authors engage with theore� cal ques� ons s
t
such as whether and how the concept of lifestyle can be
y
extended beyond its conven� onally urban, Euro-American l
context and employed in a markedly diff erent se� ng. Lifestyle e
in Siberia and the Russian North builds on the contributors’ clear i
commitment to diversifying the fi eld and providing a novel and n
in� mate insight into this vast and dynamic region.
S
i
This book provides inspiring reading for students and teachers b
of Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies and for anyone e
interested in Russia and its regions. By providing ethnographic r
case studies, it is also a useful basis for teaching anthropological i
a
methods and concepts, both at graduate and undergraduate
level. Rigorous and innova� ve, it marks an important a
contribu� on to the study of Siberia and the Russian North. n
d
As with all Open Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available
t
to read for free on the publisher’s website. Printed and digital
h
edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also
e
be found at www.openbookpublishers.com
R
Cover image: Ulan-Ude, 2009 Par� cipants u
of a brass band open-air fes� val are s
s
returning to their hostel from the main i
square where they have just performed. a
Photo: Luděk Brož, CC-BY. n
Cover design: Mar� na Tóthová and
N
Anna Ga�
o
r
t
e h
book
ebook and OA edi� ons
also available
Edited by
OPEN Joachim Otto Habeck
ACCESS
OBP
www.openbookpublishers.com
LIFESTYLE IN SIBERIA AND
THE RUSSIAN NORTH

Lifestyle in Siberia and the
Russian North
Edited by Joachim Otto Habeck
https://www.openbookpublishers.com
© 2019 Joachim Otto Habeck. Copyright of individual chapters is maintained by the
chapters’ authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
(CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to
adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the
authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Attribution should include the following information:
Joachim Otto Habeck (ed.), Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North. Cambridge, UK: Open
Book Publishers, 2019, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0171
In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit, https://
doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0171#copyright
Further details about CC BY licenses are available at, https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/
All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have
been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web
Updated digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0171#resources
Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or
error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher.
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-78374-717-7
ISBN Hardback: 978-1-78374-718-4
ISBN Digital (PDF): 978-1-78374-719-1
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 978-1-78374-720-7
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 978-1-78374-721-4
ISBN XML: 978-1-78374-722-1
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0171
Cover image: Ulan-Ude, 2009. Participants of a brass band open-air festival are returning
to their hostel from the main square where they’ve just performed. Photo: Luděk Brož,
CC-BY.
Cover design: Martina Tóthová and Anna Gatti.
Contents
Note on transliteration ix
Note on translations x
Notes on Contributors xi
Preface xv
1. Introduction: Studying Lifestyle in Russia 1
Joachim Otto Habeck
Outline of the book 2
The concept of lifestyle in sociological and anthropological 5
literature
Towards research on lifestyle in Siberia: some remarks on 17
the regional context
The concept of lifestyle in Russian social science literature 21
First insights obtained in the course of the research project 27
References 29
2. Implications of Infrastructure and Technological Change 35
for Lifestyles in Siberia
Dennis Zuev and Joachim Otto Habeck
Major infrastructural and related social changes during the 36
last three decades
Entering the post-Soviet 1990s: personal experiences 38
Movement, telecommunication, and lifestyle in peripheral 42
settings
Overview of field sites 48
Means of transportation 58
vi Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North
Telecommunication, media, social networks, and 80
photography
Conclusion 92
References 95
3. Lifestyle and Creative Engagement with Rural Space in 105
Northwest Russia
Masha Shaw (née Maria Nakhshina)
Kitchen table talk as a research tool 109
(Dis-)empowered by the state: lifestyles of (im)mobility 111
Life histories over “liquidation” of time 116
Conclusion: lifestyle as a creative engagement with place 125
References 127
4. Holiday Convergences, Holiday Divergences: Siberian 131
Leisure Mobilities Under Late Socialism and After
Luděk Brož and Joachim Otto Habeck
Tourism and holiday-making during late socialism 133
Precursors and “noble causes” of socialist holiday worlds 140
Divergent travel biographies in the first post-Soviet decade 146
Growth of the Siberian tourist industry in the 2000s 150
New directions and motivations: post-socialist holiday 154
worlds
Final thoughts on the future of tourism to, from, and within 160
Siberia
References 162
5. Spatial Imaginaries and Personal Topographies in 167
Siberian Life Stories: Analysing Movement and Place in
Biographical Narratives
Joseph J. Long
Mobility, geography, and topography 168
Narratives, images, and the spatial imaginary 170
Changing spatial imaginaries and possibilities for travel 172
Institutionalised rites of passage in travel biographies 175
Narratives of discovery 178
Movement that anchors: roots and rodina in personal 179
topographies
Visualising social encounters 181
Contents vii
Movement as lifestyle 184
Conclusion 187
References 189
6. Something like Happiness: Home Photography in the 191
Inquiry of Lifestyles
Jaroslava Panáková
On the notion of happiness 192
Photo elicitation interviews 196
Modernity the Siberian way 206
Home photography in Siberia 208
Biographical narratives: consistencies and ruptures 213
“Collective and individual” 215
“Reading” the narratives along the photographs 218
“Significant other” 234
Portraits of self 236
Conclusion 244
References 249
7. Soviet Kul’tura in Post-Soviet Identification: The 257
Aesthetics of Ethnicity in Sakha (Yakutia)
Eleanor Peers
Lifestyle, Aesthetics, and Identity Politics in Sakha (Yakutia) 259
Soviet policy, kul’tura, and lifestyle 275
Kul’tura and the emergence of ethnicity 284
Conclusion: Soviet aesthetics and the Yhyakh 288
References 290
8. Ethnicity on the Move: National-Cultural Organisations 295
in Siberia
Artem Rabogoshvili
Ethnic diversity in the Baikal region 296
Ethnic activism and lifestyle: paradigms of research 298
Divides and disparities among ethnic activists in Siberia 301
Original home and mobility 305
New home and visual self-presentation 314
Conclusion 325
References 328
viii Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North
9. “We are not Playing Life, We Live Here”: Playful 331
Appropriation of Ancestral Memory in a Youth Camp in
Western Siberia
Ina Schröder
Shared sensibilities: taking charge of local youth 333
Summer camp as a lifestyle 336
Play and self-cultivation 339
Indigenisation of Zarnitsa: retrieving one’s ancestral memory 342
Gender norms, roles, and experiences in the role-playing 348
game
Conclusion 360
References 362
10. A Taste for Play: Lifestyle and Live-Action Role-Playing in 365
Siberia and the Russian Far East
Tatiana Barchunova and Joachim Otto Habeck
Live-action role-playing (LARP) in Siberia today 366
The concept of lifestyle and its relevance to taste, play, and 368
game
LARP as practice: separation and mixture of game and reality 371
LARP and lifestyle: casual, regular, and total larpers 384
Conclusion 393
References 396
11. Conclusions 399
Joachim Otto Habeck
Beyond 2011: an update on social and cultural shifts in Russia 400
Lifestyle, habits of travelling, and visual forms of 412
self-presentation
Reassessing the concept of lifestyle 423
Lifestyle and modernity in post-Soviet Russia 425
References 430
Appendix: On Research Design and Methods 435
Joachim Otto Habeck and Jaroslava Panáková
References 448
List of Illustrations 451
Index 457
Note on transliteration
In the main text of this volume, certain geographic and other terms
widely known to an English-speaking readership are given in their
conventional forms (e.g. Buryatia, intelligentsia, Moscow, Yakutia). All
other words and phrases transliterated from Cyrillic script are rendered
in accordance with the ALA-LC (American Library Association and
Library of Congress) romanisation table, available at https://www.loc.
gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf, with the exception of the
Cyrillic letters е, ю, я — rendered in this volume as ye, yu, ya when at
the beginning of a word. Words and phrases from Sakha language may
also include ө, ү and h, rendered in this volume as ö, ü and h.
Cyrillic Latin Cyrillic Latin
А а A a Р р R r
Б б B b С с S s
В в V v Т т T t
Г г G g У у U u
Д д D d Ф ф F f
Е е e Ye* ye* Х х Kh kh
Ё ё Ë ë Ц ц Ts ts
Ж ж Zh zh Ч ч Ch ch
З з Z z Ш ш Sh sh
И и I i Щ щ Shch shch
Й й I i ъ “
К к K k Ы ы Y y
Л л L l ь ‘
М м M m Э э E e
Н н N n Ю ю iu Yu* yu*
О о O o Я я ia Ya* ya*
П п P p
*at the beginning of a word