Pushkin House is going through a transformational period dictated by the simultaneous nexus of internal and external factors

One can call that “a double decolonisation” — simultaneously from the romanticising British gaze on a fellow empire-in-troubles and cancellation through the representation of the variety of cultures of the region as a monolithic stone exclusively belonging to the Russian state. Our discursive programme outlines conceptual interdependence and commitment to platforming cross-cultural conversations through talks, panel discussions, book presentations, conferences and symposia.

What’s in a Name?
Romeo's question to Juliette refers to their families' mutual hatred. Pushkin House enters the eighth decade amidst continuous appropriations of Pushkin's name in ideological wars. While the poet's monuments fall in Ukraine, the fresh ones are erected simultaneously in Ethiopia and Eritrea. What is the concept's present condition and the monument's future? Why are we changing names from personal to country level? What is at stake in this conversation about responsibility, heritage and historical memory? 

Comparative Imperialisms
What does the term ‘empire’ mean today? What does one mean when uttering it — in admiration or disgust? Imperialism, in one view, is an extension of hard power nationalism from its fixed boundaries. On the other hand, we face another ‘empire’ — decentred, deterritorialised, and dynamic, defined by the temporal and mental construct of the imaginary, driven by the globalisation of markets. The diverse forms of domination encompass a creeping process of transmutation, where language, art, and culture play their role. How does art respond to and reflect on the emerging new orders?

Black Pushkin
Departing from the multiracial background of our namesake (Pushkin’s great-grandfather was Ethiopian), we intend to spotlight the vibrant presence of black histories, communities, and heritage in the Russian and Eastern European cultures, breaking through stereotypical perceptions of monoculturism. From the birth of Russian imperialism to the Soviet Union’s incursions in Africa through hard and soft power, we explore the extent of Eastern European and North and Central Eurasian cultural exchange with the infinitely rich multiversity of the African continent’s past, present and future. 

The programme is supported by the Zimin Foundation.