Mental Walls and the Border: Local Identity Construction in Sortavala

Abstract

This article attempts to examine local identity formation in a border town in the Soviet and post-Soviet era. Exploring new critical geopolitical approaches and analyzing discourses, the article utilizes newspaper and archive material. The main focus is on the activity of the local political elite aiming at constructing a homogenous Soviet identity in a particular place. The article also analyzes how post-Soviet geopolitical realities, the national identity crisis and liberalized border regime have impacted these processes