29 articles tagged with memory studies were found.
Postcolonial scholarship has made a significant contribution by highlighting and critically assessing the liminal, inbetween positionality of Eastern Europe, which has contributed to the neglect of voices and experiences from the region. Discourses that construct and reproduce the notion of Eastern Europe “catching up” have been examined in historical, anthropological, and sociological contexts, as well as across various fields, including international relations, memory studies, democratization, and European integration. This theme section explores some of these intricacies through the case studies of Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Estonia.
By
Lelde Luika
December 18, 2025
Views of the past are constantly being revised, with the impact of different political and social occurrences generating new narratives and ways of interpreting history. This essay focuses on three cases of recent spatial reconfiguration in Estonia, all demonstrating how contrasting memoryscapes are perceived, especially after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the Soviet memorials, symbols and murals in public space in Estonia have fallen under intense scrutiny as remnants and symbols of the Soviet regime. Russian aggression towards Ukraine seemed to reopen the wound of the most recent trauma. At the same time, the legacies of more remote oppressors, the Baltic Germans, has taken on a new meaning as a more neutral and even positive heritage. With three examples of spatial transformation, the essay examines the choices made on treating the layers of Estonian history and raises questions about how current decisions could shape our perception in the future.
Essay by
Triin Reidla and Anu Soojärv
December 18, 2025
Yurii Latysh, PhD (Candidate of Historical Sciences), visiting Professor of State University of Londrina (Brazil), deputy editor-in-chief of the journal Historical Expertise (Istoriceskaja Ekspertiza), in a discussion with Denys Kiryukhin on how the Russo-Ukrainian war has affected the politics of memory in Eastern Europe.
By
Denys Kiryukhin
November 21, 2025
The interdisciplinary research centre Places, Identities and Memories’ (PIMs) Annual Conference “Spaces of Victimhood in Eastern Europe”
Date and location: June 18–19, 2025, the University College London (UCL).
Organizer: Jessie Barton Hronešov. and Paweł Bukowski, School of Slavonic & East European Studies (SSEES) UCL.
Memory Studies Association’s (MSA)Annual Conference “Beyond Crises:Resilience and (In)Stability”
Date: July 14–18, 2025.
Organizers: Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague.
By
Cagla Demirel
September 23, 2025
The events in Ukraine prompted the countries of East-Central Europe to review their approach to the monuments and collective memory signs that have remained from the Soviet era. Although the region regards the dismantling of Soviet monuments in relation to de-Sovietization that started around 1990, the removal of the remaining Soviet artefacts from public spaces was also related to the international situation in 2013–2014 and 2022, almost thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As the dominant research of de-Sovietization focus on the elimination of Soviet monuments, i.e. by nature, a negative aspect of de-Sovietization based on the removal and dismantling of monuments, the article presents the concept of positive de-Sovietization based on the case analysis of Lithuanian monuments. The de-Sovietization process is considered dual: the removal of Soviet monuments is accompanied by the construction of the new ones establishing a new historical narrative and state’s identity. It can be defined as a positive aspect of de-Sovietization that makes its implementation complete.
By
Viktorija Rimaitė-Beržiūnienė
September 23, 2025
In a conversation with Irina Sandomirskaja, Luba Jurgenson explores how the epoch-making event of Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to changes in the research field Slavic Studies, particularly memory studies and the studies of camp literature. They discuss how ideas of repetition and the return of history have a new resonance, and how increasing concerns are impacting a historical consciousness that demands epistemic justice.
By
Irina Sandomirskaja
April 16, 2025
The societies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Kosovo utilize dark (war) tourism to preserve and visualize memories of the 1990s conflicts and war crimes against civilians. Both countriesnhave developed numerous sites, mapped them, and integrated them into excursions and tourist programs. In BiH, dark tourism reflects collective trauma and a need to share experiences with others. Kosovan Albanians focus on reflecting upon the war and its consequences while constructing narratives about national history. A shared issue in both BiH and Kosovo is the dominance of a single perspective on the events of the 1990s, with Bosniaks and Kosovan Albanians promoting their versions of history while excluding the perspectives of other ethnic groups.
Essay by
Kateryna Shymkevych
April 16, 2025
The process of decolonization in Ukrainian cities is significant because of the remaining socialist heritage. This includes architecture, urban planning structures, toponyms, and symbolic spaces. While this heritage is deeply implemented in the contemporary cityscape, it has also become the subject of criticism, particularly after the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. Socialist cities such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kryvyi Rig played a prominent role in shaping the urban landscape and were conceptualized by Soviet urbanists in the 1920s and 1930s. These cities were designed to gain complete control over the social and professional aspects of residents’ lives, reflecting the ideological ambitions of the communist party. This article explores the importance of socialist cities in the context of colonial heritage, examining the origins of the idea and its ideological significance.
Essay by
Anastasiia Bozhenko and Olesya Chagovets
December 10, 2024
The CBEES Summer School 2024 “The Return of History: Memory, War and the End of the "Post” is a specialized course that delves into in-depth studies of central theories of cultural memory.
By
Ninna Mörner
September 10, 2024
One cannot go back in time and cannot experience it as it was. Yet this collection of memoirs is an attempt at the restoration of the immaterial culture of the 1990s in St. Petersburg. It was written with the awareness of the integrated failure of the project by all its participants.
Essay by
Anna Kharkina
January 18, 2023
Issue 2026, 1: 
Issue 2026, 2: 
Baltic Worlds covers; the Baltic Sea Region, Eastern Europe, Russia, CentralAsia, Caucasus and the Balkan area.