Actually Existing Socialism The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 1) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 1)
Jun 21, 2022
Alice and Dennis Bartels, authors of 'When the North Was Red: Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia', discuss their extensive research on the Indigenous peoples of the Soviet Union. They delve into the differences between their experience and the genocidal experience of Indigenous peoples in North America. Topics include living in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the impact of neoliberal reforms after the Soviet Union's dissolution, and the experiences of Indigenous peoples in the Soviet Union.
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Access Secured By Indigenous Ethnographer Advocate
- Alice and Dennis faced institutional suspicion on arrival in Leningrad but gained access through Dr. Chunar Takasami, an indigenous ethnographer and Academy member.
- Takasami personally intervened with institute administrators and even made tea for staff, easing their research access.
Family Life In Leningrad School Left Children Bilingual
- Alice recounts registering their children at a strict Leningrad English-specialist school where teachers were elected and vice principal was a retired opera singer.
- Their daughters learned Russian rapidly; older daughter developed an English-Russian creole while integrating locally.
Similar Colonial Dynamics But Different Outcomes In Siberia
- Colonial expansion in Siberia paralleled North America via fur trade, disease, and alcohol-mediated exploitation, but outcomes differed because many Siberian groups retained autonomy.
- Reindeer economies shaped distinct cultural resilience and meant conquest patterns and assimilation pressures differed from the Americas.