
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
From Stalin’s inner circle to Soviet dinner menus, the small nation of Georgia had a remarkable influence on the politics and culture of the USSR. Erik Scott, author of Familiar Strangers: The Georgian Diaspora and the Evolution of Soviet Empire (Oxford University Press, 2016), traces how Georgians came to occupy such a central role in Soviet history, as well as how the relationship with Moscow unraveled. Scott argues that the Soviet Union should be seen as an “empire of diasporas”: though assigned to titular republics, Soviet nationalities were mobile, mixed freely, and gained prominence in the center. In a system that elevated national repertoires, performing “otherness” could be a successful integration strategy. Scott argues that Georgians were perhaps the ideal “familiar strangers”—highly educated, densely networked, and fluent in Russian culture, while also boasting a language unintelligible to outsiders and a unique performance tradition.
5
11 ratings
From Stalin’s inner circle to Soviet dinner menus, the small nation of Georgia had a remarkable influence on the politics and culture of the USSR. Erik Scott, author of Familiar Strangers: The Georgian Diaspora and the Evolution of Soviet Empire (Oxford University Press, 2016), traces how Georgians came to occupy such a central role in Soviet history, as well as how the relationship with Moscow unraveled. Scott argues that the Soviet Union should be seen as an “empire of diasporas”: though assigned to titular republics, Soviet nationalities were mobile, mixed freely, and gained prominence in the center. In a system that elevated national repertoires, performing “otherness” could be a successful integration strategy. Scott argues that Georgians were perhaps the ideal “familiar strangers”—highly educated, densely networked, and fluent in Russian culture, while also boasting a language unintelligible to outsiders and a unique performance tradition.
37 Listeners