ESIMDE AND MEMORY: RECONSTRUCTING STALINIST REPRESSION IN POST-SOVIET KYRGYZSTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52754/16948653_2026_1_4Keywords:
Repressions, Esimde, Memory Politics, History, Stalinism, UkraineAbstract
This paper explores the largely overlooked Stalin-era deportations from Kyrgyzstan to Ukraine, shifting focus from archival research to contemporary memory practices in Kyrgyz society. Through interviews with historians, researchers, and members of the Esimde Research Center in Bishkek, it highlights grassroots efforts to preserve this marginalized history. In the absence of state support or public discourse, individuals and organizations engage in memory work through oral histories, exhibitions, and community events. These initiatives aim to reclaim suppressed historical narratives and ensure their transmission to future generations, reflecting a localized response to Soviet and post-Soviet historical erasure and repression
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