Episode 45: Is “post-Soviet” still relevant?

Hi all,

In academia, in journalism and sometimes in activist circles we can still hear about the “post-Soviet space”. Things and places are described as post-Soviet if they had any connection with the Soviet Union or the vast territory that gained independence after its collapse, from Brest to Vladivostok and from Arkhangelsk to the northern border of Iran.

Thirty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is there anything that these places still have in common? Is the post-Soviet label still relevant? Or is it used to mark territories that, in Russia’s view, and should remain under its influence?

What can we replace the post-Soviet label with? And, importantly, should we?

This week, we’re talking about the much-maligned but also much-overused concept of the “post-Soviet”. To unpack this term, we are joined by Erica Marat, a Washington DC-based academic, originally from Kyrgyzstan. Her research focuses on organised crime, violence, mobilisation, and security institutions in Central Asia, North Asia, and Europe. She is the author of several books, most recently Decolonial Disruptions in Central Asia: Discussion, Practices, and Networks (Cambridge University Press, 2026), co-authored with Aizada Arystanbek.

I hope you will enjoy this one!

Have a lovely end of the week.

— Agnieszka