Theorising Russian postcolonial studies

This article is based on the observation that the current application of postcolonial theory in Russian studies is limited to analysis of Russian rather than the wider Russophone literature, especially from the southern sphere of the ex-Soviet bloc. I argue that this critical tendency is largely rooted in the peculiar theoretical discourse on Russia’s subaltern and internally colonised identity vis-à-vis the West, a notion that tends to perpetuate Russian orientalist and colonial discourses. Within this narrative, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union are regarded as non-colonial powers since the Russian population allegedly suffered more under Russo-Soviet rule than non-Russian nationalities in the annexed territories. On the other hand, studies that do accept the Russo-Soviet Empire’s status as colonial examine how Russia has discursively shaped its ‘Orient’, in particular, the nations in the Caucasus and Central Asia, but inevitably privilege Russian literature. I explore the problematic implications of such an exclusive focus on the Russian perspective, question the theoretical conception of Russia as an ‘internal colony’, propose arguments for the consideration of Soviet colonialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia as a variant model of Western colonialism, and emphasise the need for examining Russophone cultures when theorising Russian postcolonial studies.