Episode 2: Soviet Georgian Migrants, Memory and Rivers with Jeff Sahadeo
May 7, 2021
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Author Jeff Sahadeo explores the experiences and memories of Soviet Georgian migrants, discussing their lives, the Soviet experience, and nostalgia for the stable and decent days. He also delves into the racialization of nationality, the rise of xenophobia after the collapse of the USSR, and human relations between Georgians and Russians. Additionally, Sahadeo touches on his new research project about rivers in Soviet and post-Soviet Georgia and the challenges faced in the country today.
The concept of Soviet identity was based on shared experiences and a sense of belonging, rather than communist ideology.
Multiculturalism in the Soviet Union was viewed as artificial, with personal connections and understanding seen as more effective in fostering harmonious relations.
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought both opportunities and challenges for Georgians, leading to nostalgia for the stability and safety of the Soviet period.
Deep dives
Understanding Multi-Ethnic Life in Soviet Cities
The podcast episode discusses the research of Jeff Sajadeo, a professor of history at Carleton University, who explores the multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of cities like Leningrad and Moscow during the Soviet period. By conducting oral history interviews, Sajadeo delves into the personal experiences of individuals living in these cities and their interactions with people from different regions and ethnic backgrounds. The interviews reveal a commonality between Soviet identities, where individuals felt a sense of belonging and were able to navigate relationships with various ethnic groups. However, the formal aspect of multiculturalism imposed by the state was seen as artificial by many interviewees, who believed that personal connections and understanding were more effective in fostering harmonious relations.
Soviet Identity and Everyday Life
The podcast episode also explores the concept of Soviet identity by examining how individuals in Leningrad and Moscow during the late Soviet period perceived themselves. According to the interviews conducted by Sajadeo, many people identified as Soviet based on their upbringing, education, and the shared experiences of being part of a superpower. The interviewees emphasized the opportunities for education, employment, and travel within the Soviet Union, which provided a sense of stability and decent living standards. The concept of Soviet identity was not necessarily tied to communist ideology, but rather centered around the idea of being part of a larger project and living a comfortable, predictable life.
The Impact of Soviet Era and Post-Soviet Changes on Georgians
The podcast episode also briefly touches on the impact of Soviet and post-Soviet changes on Georgians' lives. It highlights how the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s brought both opportunities and challenges. Many Georgians initially thrived in cities like Moscow, but as food shortages and national tensions increased, some returned to their villages. The interviews reveal nostalgia for the stability and safety of the Soviet period, when basic necessities were provided and personal safety was not a major concern. The post-Soviet era brought about changes in the understanding of nationality, the rise of corruption, and challenges in finding employment. However, the sense of Soviet identity and the memories of a more stable life persisted among many Georgians.
Migration to Moscow
Many demobilized soldiers migrated to Moscow, seeking opportunities and connections. The city became a hub for networks and social connections. The boundaries between the periphery and the core were porous. The book argues that Moscow was not just a center of privilege, but the centers of these networks.
Racialization and Ethnic Identity
The concept of race in the North American and Western European context may not align with how race is understood in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet space. The term 'black' was used to label individuals from the Caucasus and Central Asia in Moscow, highlighting the racialized and essentialized understanding of nationalities during the Soviet period. The term race, although not recognized or understood in the same way by Soviet citizens, reveals a commonality in the way different peoples were categorized and isolated. In the post-Soviet period, racialization became more evident, leading to violent manifestations and discrimination based on physical appearance.
During the late USSR, thousands of people from Soviet Georgia relocated to both Leningrad and the all-Soviet capital, Moscow. Many left Soviet Georgia to study in universities, for job placements or other career opportunities. Some of these people stayed, while others returned. Some went to Leningrad and Moscow as traders of fruits or flowers, using trade networks and access to desirable goods in Georgia to forge out comfortable livings for themselves.
We spoke with Jeff Sahadeo about his book “Voices From the Soviet Edge” which uses oral histories to explore the experiences and memories of these Soviet migrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia. In particular he explains to us what the experiences of the Georgian migrants were, what their lives were like, what the Soviet experience meant to them, and how life in the Soviet Union was remembered as one of freedom, stability and better days.
We also discuss the subject of professor Sahadeo's new research project on water and rivers in Soviet and post-Soviet Georgia. As Georgia is home to thousands of rivers, in the Soviet era they became hugely important to modernization projects and city planning. Towards the end of the USSR, environmental concerns relating to dams in Georgia were issues nationalists seized upon. In Georgia today, the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants are as contentious as ever - overseen by multinational corporations which demonstrate a formidable shift from how Soviet-era projects were undertaken.
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