The End of the Soviet Union? Origins and Legacies of 1991 - Bremen 05/11
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Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universität Bremen, Bremen
19.05.2011-21.05.2011
Deadline: 30.04.2010
During the last two decades, the thitherto unimaginable collapse of the Soviet Union was seen both as a definite break with the Soviet past and the onset of a phase of 'transition' to a democratic future. From both Eastern and Western standpoints, the year 1991 appeared as a definite epochal border.
Almost a generation later, the Soviet hymn has made its way back into official state symbols glorifying Russia's Greatness akin to Soviet tradition, Soviet leaders are praised for their leadership and management skills, the loss of Soviet ideals is lamented in public and official discourse alike. Two decades after 'The End of History', the emphasis is placed on continuities rather than fissures - history is back and the clear delineation represented by '1991' seems to evaporate in the face of this renewed, if ambivalent affirmation of the Soviet past.