“Hidden in Silence”: Navigating Moscow with Michel de Certeau

Authors

  • Elena Siemens University of Alberta

Abstract

Inspired by the writings of de Certeau, this paper discusses the official and unofficial meanings of Lubyanka (short for Lubyanskaya Square) - one of Moscow’s most perplexing spaces, known primarily as the site of the KGB (now FSB) headquarters. In the Soviet period, an imposing statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the original Soviet secret police, dominated the square’s elevated centre. The statue was removed during the 1991 coup, but the memory of it continues to haunt the space. In more recent years, the toppled Dzerzhinsky has ignited heated political debates in the Russian parliament. The statue’s removal also had a profound impact on the walker’s relationship to the square. Paradoxically, its absence, or rather the presence of its absence, has proved more difficult to deal with than its actual presence.

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Published

2009-12-08

Issue

Section

Articles