Navigating Russian culture cancelation in post-colonial context: analysis of Latvian theater practices and discourses

The article analyzes efforts to cancel Russian culture in Latvian theatre following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Theatre is conceptualized as a medium that is itself a message and that conveys a message to a wider audience. The study is grounded in theoretical perspectives drawn from cancel culture and postcolonial theory. It discusses the trigger, motives, objectives, practices, and discourses of the cancellation of Russian culture. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining media content analysis with survey data from Latvian residents and semi-structured interviews with decision-makers in Latvian theatres. The findings suggest that, although substantial motivations existed for the cancellation of Russian culture, such cancellation did not ultimately materialize. This outcome may be attributed to several factors: the absence of strong public demand for exclusionary measures, the comparatively positive attitudes of theatre professionals toward the works of Russian authors, and the persistence of long-standing institutional and artistic ties with Russian theatre traditions. More deeply rooted causes can be traced to Latvia's postcolonial condition, which has fostered widespread proficiency in the Russian language and familiarity with Russian culture. Over time, selected and highly valued elements of Russian cultural production have been appropriated and integrated into Latvian cultural life, thereby acquiring a hybrid status within Latvian culture.