Lecture | The Untamed Ruin: Between Dream and Reality in Russia's Colonial Frontier

Speaker name: Rusana Novikova (Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology at UC Berkeley)

Drawing on 26 months of ethnographic and archival research in Pacific Russia, my research intervenes in debates on environmental afterlives of industrialization, by investigating a uniquely post-socialist experiment—a land development project unfolding against the backdrop of the Soviet empire's remains. My main theoretical intervention lies with the concept of wilderness. Contrary to earlier writings that critiqued the idea of wilderness, I show that wilderness is also a material process shaped by complex environmental and political histories. I examine the popular image of Russia’s Far East as an untamed frontier ripe for resettlement and development to argue that this state-driven colonial narrative is sustained by the fact that local ecologies have slipped into a feral state. These emerging ecologies read by outsiders as “wild” are the result of century-long state policies that, whether intentional or not, displaced rural, predominantly Indigenous, populations from their land. Rather than presenting an unlimited, open potential, the Far Eastern Hectare is profoundly constrained by these ecologies. By ethnographically examining a settler colonial project in the making, my research shows that such initiatives are not merely imposed on a passive, receptive “nature.” Instead, local ecologies—products of longstanding human and non-human interactions—create points of ‘friction’ that lead to unexpected limitations and opportunities in the project’s realization. These dynamics not only challenge the viability of settler colonial ambitions but also reveal how colonial projects are reshaped by their environmental contexts.

Speaker bio: I am an environmental anthropologist, documentarian, and podcaster based at the University of California, Berkeley. My dissertation ethnographically examines Russia’s Far Eastern Hectare—a contemporary settler colonial project set amidst the ruins of the Soviet empire. This research grew out of my fascination with the Far Eastern countryside that has been going through a dramatic change following the collapse of the Soviet Union, widespread industry closures, and massive outmigration. Essentially, my work is concerned with the formation of what I call ‘feral ecologies’ that begin to emerge when both people and industries leave. I feel deeply that storytelling is anthropology’s most powerful asset, and I am committed to taking my research beyond the confines of academia by telling engaging stories through sound and visual media. In 2023, I released Ainu Fever, my first audio documentary that explores conservationism, land rights, and the layered colonial history of Sakhalin Island by following a complicated friendship between a Russian environmentalist and an Ainu community leader. When I’m not writing or tinkering with Adobe Audition, I like to interview fellow travelers for the Eurasian Knot, an audio podcast on Russian, East European, and Eurasian culture, history, and politics.

All members of the Pitzer Community are welcome to attend this event.