Public Heritage Preservation Movements in Post-Soviet Cities: between Marginality and National Interest

Abstract

by Stsiapan Stureika

The article examines conservation activists’ urban movements in Hrodna (Belarus) and Lviv (Ukraine), their history and typical strategies. The main reasons for founding such preservation movements result from an overall political and economic situation of post-Soviet transformation where on the one hand the 1990’s brought an unseen degree of social freedom but on the other the economic growth was combined with construction pressure on city heritage centers, a kind of focal points of modern Eastern European nationalisms. Tension between various political actors, bureaucrats, businessmen, heritage preservation professionals and construction industry made public activists a visible force in cities’ life and decision-making. Comparison, based on multiple interviews with activists, shows a high degree of similarities in argumentation, planning and achievements. The main feature of their performance and discourse is the jam between self-dramatization
and external attempts to marginalize participants.