A Sense of Stalinism Emotion, Authenticity, and Memory in Visitor Experiences of Gulag Museums in Russia

Alena Kravtsova, Gavin Slade

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This article compares visitor experiences at the Gulag History Museum in Moscow and the NKVD Prison Museum in Tomsk, Siberia. The museums differ in the production of authenticity in the museum experience. The Moscow museum has no direct relationship to a site of memory and therefore utilizes constructed forms of authenticity. In contrast, the Tomsk museum makes use of objective authenticity given its location in an original prison building. The museums share a stated mission to produce a cosmopolitan mode of remembering based on universal values and empathy for victims with a preventive mission for the sake of the future. The article examines original data from visitor focus groups to understand the emotional impact of these museums. The Moscow museum manufactures the atmosphere of the Gulag through interactive sensory stimulation. We found that this can meet resistance from visitors who sense that their emotions are being manipulated. We found that the Tomsk museum directly elicits strong emotional responses but responses could also include dark tourist titillation. In conclusion, we consider how these findings speak to debates around the tension between cosmopolitan, antagonistic, and agonistic modes of remembering.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)104-124
Number of pages21
JournalCommunist and Post-Communist Studies
Volume57
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 1 2024

Keywords

  • Gulag
  • memory museum
  • Moscow
  • Russia
  • Soviet repression
  • Tomsk

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Sociology and Political Science

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