Eclipsing Stalin: The GULAG History Museum in Moscow as a Manifestation of Russia's Official Memory of Soviet Repression

This article analyzes the temporary (2015) and permanent (2018) expositions of Moscow's GULAG History Museum (GHM), and the documents surrounding its creation. The analysis demonstrates two key findings. First, focusing on the Gulag and omitting post-Gulag Soviet repression, the GHM ultimately...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProblems of post-communism Vol. 70; no. 5; pp. 531 - 543
Main Authors Zavadski, Andrei, Dubina, Vera
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Armonk Routledge 03.09.2023
M. E. Sharpe Inc
Subjects
Museums
World War II
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Summary:This article analyzes the temporary (2015) and permanent (2018) expositions of Moscow's GULAG History Museum (GHM), and the documents surrounding its creation. The analysis demonstrates two key findings. First, focusing on the Gulag and omitting post-Gulag Soviet repression, the GHM ultimately works to historicize the former. Second, while prominently ending the permanent exposition with Stalin's death, the GHM nevertheless downplays his role in the repression. The Gulag becomes a thing of the past, something to acknowledge--and leave behind. Stalin, however, is extracted from that past: he remains in the present, as part of the official "Great Patriotic War" memory.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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content type line 14
ISSN:1075-8216
1557-783X
DOI:10.1080/10758216.2021.1983444