We are happy to announce the next presentation of the Visegrad Scholarship at OSA. The presentation will be held at 11:15 AM on Tuesday, April 30, in the Meeting Room of the Blinken OSA Archivum, and online.
Join the event in the Archivum, or online following the link below:
https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/91844563105?pwd=WHBpaHNkMm54dE4wZ1M5dDc5NjhtZz09
Provisional Architectures of Soviet Extractivism
by Ksenia Litvinenko, associated postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space
In the late Soviet period, expertise in architectural and urban planning and construction was mobilizsed in the state-sponsored project of transforming Western Siberia into the country’s largest extractivist region. Upon the discovery of vast oil and gas reserves, expedited construction of provisional buildings and “rotational” settlements ensured rapid accommodation for geologists, construction workers, and industry personnel. Despite harsh weather conditions and limited transport infrastructure, barracks, decommissioned wagons, and mobile living units facilitated labour migration from across the USSR to achieve state goals. Meanwhile, the region’s indigenous communities faced continued marginalizsation and spatial containment due to the legacy of collectivizsation, paternalistic state policies, exacerbated ecological challenges, and other factors. Drawing from the Blinken OSA Archivum’s archival collection, this presentation offers preliminary insights into the complex dynamics of Soviet state-led extractivism and its enduring socio-environmental consequences.