Disciplining the Body of Post-Soviet City: «Fences» and «Bridges» of the Public Space

Article

Abstract

[In Russian]

The article addresses post-Soviet transformation of urban
public space as part of the society’s public sphere. Drawing from
an actor-network theory and concepts of social production of
space (Lefebvre, de Certeau) and territorial production (Kär-
rholm), the authors analyze the transformations of public places
in Minsk, Vilnius and Kazan. The focus of the study is the idea of
«fence» as a means of regulating a city’s symbolic– and public
space. The article argues that the use of barriers and, notably,
bodies as barriers has led to developing a specific set of strategies
of «disciplining» of the public sphere and practices of resisting
them in post-Soviet cities.