Paper short abstract:

This paper is devoted to an exploration of "remoteness" as a spatial and social phenomenon associated with modernization and infrastructure change. Drawing on the example of a railroad built in eastern Siberia during the late socialism, it analyses disconnection as discontents with modernization.

Paper long abstract:

This paper drawing on the example of a railroad built in eastern Siberia during the late socialism, is devoted to an exploration of "remoteness" as a spatial and social phenomenon associated with modernization and infrastructure change. The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) was accompanied by the creation of new towns and a complete restructuration of the ethnic and social landscape. Being part of the larger Soviet modernization project, the railroad was to "bring civilization to remote corners of the country" - primarily from the perspective of political and economic centers and with an eye toward resources. Whatever the initial expectations and impacts of railroad construction might have been, "remoteness" signifies different things for various groups living along the BAM today. As "overcoming remoteness" (Arce and Long 2000) has been the official aim of the railroad project, an additional question of relevance to us is what happens with those who wanted and/or want to remain "remote" and whether we can access these historical and contemporary "hidden transcripts" (Scott 1990) if they exist. This leads us to our final, slightly provocative, question whether there is or should be a "right to remoteness" vis-a-vis large-scale infrastructure projects. In order to address this question, we will focus on the case of the indigenous community of Ust'-Nyukzha located in vicinity to the BAM, which has received regional attention by refusing to be connected to the railroad and road system.