In Conversation with Issy Sawkins - The Use of the Soviet Past in the Present

Frances Shalom SPEAKS TO Issy Sawkins about the Use of The Soviet Past in the Present and her research into the contemporary politicisation of holocaust memory in the russian federation

Issy Sawkin

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Soviet history has played a significant role in informing Russian national identity and uniting the nation. On Thursday, 8 October 2020 we will be hosting an event with Issy Sawkins, Allyson Edwards, and Lucy Birge on The Use of the Soviet Past in the Present. This discussion will engage with the instrumentalization of this memory during the Yeltsin and Putin era. The presenters will briefly introduce themselves and their topics, drawing on their expertise in memory of the Second World War during the 1990s, and memory of the 1917 Russian revolution and Holocaust memory in contemporary Russia. They will discuss the chosen narratives and their implications, which are closely linked with the recent constitutional amendments. There will then be a more general discussion with the audience about these developments, with the opportunity for a Q&A session. The discussion will be chaired by Dr Kristin Roth-Ey of UCL.

Ahead of this event, Young Pushkin Frances Shalom sat down with Issy Sawkins to hear more about her research, her interest in Russia, and her favourite memories from her travels across the country. Issy is a second-year, SWWDTP-funded student at the University of Exeter. Her research investigates the contemporary politicisation of Holocaust memory in the Russian Federation. Issy has recently returned from a two-month placement at Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and she will be moving to Moscow in March for three months of research. Issy is postgraduate representative for the British Association of Holocaust Studies.

Frances Shalom (Pushkin House): Hi Issy, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little more about your work?

Isabel Sawkins: My name is Isabel, and I am a third-year PhD student at the University of Exeter. My research investigates contemporary Holocaust memory in the Russian Federation, examining museums, films and educational materials. It looks at how Holocaust memory not only serves domestic goals, such as political legitimacy, but is also moulded by geopolitical developments. My project therefore lies at the intersection of memory and international politics. My PhD is funded by the South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership. 

Frances: How did you first become interested in the Russian Federation and Post-Soviet space?

Isabel: I was offered the opportunity to start learning Russian at 13 when I moved to my secondary school. Students were offered Spanish, German, or Russian – the majority of students opted for Spanish, but I wanted to do something a little different. My mother offered to teach me German in my spare time if I truly wanted to learn it, so I decided to take up Russian formally at school. I was fortunate enough to have incredibly enthusiastic and inspirational Russian teachers: I had already fallen in love with Russian classical music as a piano player, but through Russian language classes, my fascination for Russian culture was deepened and strengthened tenfold. Before I knew it, I was then applying to further my studies at university: I studied French, Russian, and Italian for my undergraduate at Durham University, before then studying for a Masters in Political Sociology of Russia and Eastern Europe at SSEES, UCL.  

Frances: Your research sounds incredibly interesting and is obviously a topic of great significance. Do you think there is something unique about Russian history and the mobilisation of memory in the country?

Isabel: This is one of the questions at the core of my PhD! When it comes to my specific research, I would say that there is something unique about Holocaust memory in the Russian Federation. Whilst many other countries instrumentalise the Holocaust for domestic and international purposes, I would say that what we see happening in Russia is special because the topic was not confronted for such a long time. During the Soviet era, the Holocaust was marginalised; the state focused on the fact that Soviet citizens died during the Great Patriotic War, as opposed to Jews being specifically targeted during the Holocaust. This has changed recently, and we can now see both state and non-state engagement with the Holocaust in the Russian Federation. It is commemorated in various ways across cultural and political platforms, aimed at both domestic and international audiences. My work looks specifically at the state examples of this new memory, examining why they appeared at a particular moment in time and what they are trying to tell the intended audience about the Holocaust.

Frances: Obviously here at Pushkin House we are all great admirers of Russian culture. Have you travelled in Russia before? Is there anything that surprised you or something you wish more people understood?

Isabel: I travelled to Russia on scholastic exchanges in 2010 and 2012, and then spent six months living in St Petersburg in 2016 as part of my year abroad. I wish people understood that Russian people are some of the most hospitable in the world: I experienced such kindness and compassion from people I met during my year abroad (and also from my Russian friends from the UK more generally). There is a stereotype that Russians aren’t particularly warm, but in my experience, this has not always been the case. I did quickly learn, though, that smiling whilst walking down the streets would get you some weird glares – smiling at strangers is not a Russian custom!

Frances: Do you have any funny travel stories or memorable moments from your trips?

Isabel: Some of my funniest moments are linguistic mishaps. The first incident happened within a few weeks of arriving in St Petersburg. We went for our first night out on Dumskaia Street, and on the way back to our flat we decided to stop off for some food. We popped into Chainaia Lozhka, a blini restaurant which is apparently no longer open. I ended up getting into a rather hilarious, albeit frustrating, conversation with the man who worked there, because he couldn’t understand quite what I wanted with my blini. I had been saying s gribami [with mushrooms], but with the stress on the first ‘i’ as opposed to the ‘a’. A small mistake like that meant that the man had absolutely no clue what I was trying to say, and I eventually resorted to pointing at the menu and getting my friends involved! The second happened towards the end of my time in the city. My housemate and I had gone to our favourite gelato shop, which was located pretty much directly below our flat. I misheard the shop assistant saying po-drugomu [differently] for podruga [girlfriend], and accidentally tried to set my housemate up with the guy serving our gelato! It’s a miracle that she continued to leave the house with me after that!

Frances: That’s hilarious! Who knew you could find love in a gelato shop! Besides making sure you don’t marry off any of your friends, do you have any top tips for travelling in Russia?

Isabel: Make the most of Russian culture! Besides the museums, which are all outstanding, there is still so much more that Russian culture has to offer. When I lived there in 2016, the exchange rate was very strong and we frequently went to the theatre, classical music concerts, and the ballet. Not only are they are a great opportunity to dress up (which I love to do anyway!), but the performances I attended were also some of the best that I have ever seen; the opportunity to watch ballet at the Marinskii Theatre not only exceeded my wildest expectations, but will also stay with me forever.

The Use of Soviet Past in the Present will take place on Thursday, 8th October from 6pm till 7:30pm via Zoom.

Frances Shalom is a Young Pushkin volunteer and a recent graduate of King’s College, London. Following completion of her History degree, she is currently applying to publish her thesis on the use of monetary policy as a tool of the Cold War.

Read Frances’s interviews with the other ‘The Use of the Soviet Past’ panelists Allyson Edwards and Lucy Birge.