Abstract
Abstract: My research examines post-Soviet architecture in Russia through a postcolonial lens, focusing on decentralization processes from 1990 to 2010. I analyze the role of architecture in the construction of regional and ethnic identities, using classic post- and decolonial theories and concepts on identity and regionalism. In this paper I identify and describe decolonial architectural practices in regions of Russia and their relationship with decentralization and regional autonomous subjectivity. I claim that post-Soviet architecture was a tool in regional symbolic politics that was used by local elites to establish regions as unique and rightful territorial social groups or to challenge the established order. I show, however, the hybridity of such regional architectural practices, which were both empowering and suppressive, decolonial and orientalist. Finally, I propose the new perspective to describe the architecture in regions as "symbolic regimes," linking the local political, economic, and cultural disposition with architectural practice.
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