Conference on Post-Soviet Era in Uzhhorod Seeks New Solidarity

The RUTA Association for Central, South-Eastern and Eastern European, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and Northern Asian Studies held its third conference in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, gathering over 150 scientists, journalists, and artists. The conference focused on the legacy of Soviet colonialism, a perspective often marginalized in global postcolonial debates. Key topics included forced Russification, the 1930s famine in Kazakhstan, deportations of ethnic groups, ecological destruction like the drying of the Aral Sea, and the long-term health effects of Soviet nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. A film by Kazakh director Aigerim Seitenova highlighted the trauma of survivors. The association, founded by Professor Botakoz Kassymbekova, aims to give voice to Eastern European and Central Asian perspectives and advocates for processing psychological and physical trauma, inspired by philosopher Tereza Hendl.