Contribution short abstract:

This talk introduces "memory commons" to explore local memory practices in Kolyma, a site of Stalin-era labor camps. Focusing on the individual digital project and fieldwork observations from 2015, it highlights the shared, participatory nature of remembrance beyond institutionalized frameworks.

Contribution long abstract:

The problematic past has traditionally been studied through the lens of the politics of memory, emphasizing conflicts that sometimes may escalate into “memory wars.” This perspective primarily focuses on intentional memory transmission initiatives, such as museums and monuments. In contrast, I will introduce the concept of “memory commons” to examine the dynamic network of memory-evoking actors, including but not limited to historical infrastructure, digital projects, landscape elements, and place lore.

Kolyma, named after the Kolyma River, is a former area of operation of Dalstroy —a Stalin-era industrial and penal complex—and is infamous for its labor camps. This genealogy sometimes presents a problem for the contemporary population, most of whom moved to the region later, attracted by financial incentives and socialist romanticist promises of meaningful labor in the North. The 1990s witnessed a boom in local memory initiatives, with the most cited being Ivan Panikarov’s private museum in Yagodnoe (Bogumil 2018, Khlevnyuk 2021, Staf 2023), while Zuzanna Bogumil (2018) mentioned several similar grassroots projects in this area.

In my talk, I will analyze the cross-platform digital project "Krater Ershota" (Ershot Crater) and the debate surrounding replacing the old bridge built by camp prisoners over the Kolyma River, alongside instances of everyday memory-evoking I observed during my 2015 fieldwork. Using these examples, I will highlight the horizontal, participatory nature of memory commons in Kolyma and their role in shaping collective remembrance beyond formalized frameworks.