Authors

Alexandre Zaezjev¹;  ¹ McGill University, Canada

Discussion

This paper explores the temporality of post-Soviet retrotopias through the examples of DAU (Ilya Khrzhanovsky, 2005 - ongoing) and Captain Volkonogov Escaped (Natalya Merkulova and Alexey Chupov, 2021), two prominent cultural phenomena in contemporary post-Soviet cinema and multimedia art. Drawing on Zygmunt Bauman's concept of retrotopia—where the past is reimagined to provide reassurance amidst an uncertain future—it examines how these works construct anachronistic visions of the Stalinist Soviet era. In both projects, the Soviet past is layered with elements of the present, forming a temporal palimpsest where traces of contemporary realities emerge through the reconstructed historical narrative.

Through these case studies, the paper discusses how DAU and Captain Volkonogov challenge linear notions of time, suggesting instead parallel temporalities. It interrogates the interplay between the sense of beginnings and endings, authenticity versus constructedness, and the tension between immediacy and continuity. These layered temporalities not only reflect post-Soviet society’s complex relationship with its history but also engage with broader questions about the role of memory, nostalgia, and historical reconstruction in shaping collective identity. Ultimately, this paper argues that such retrotopias reveal the fragility of temporal boundaries, serving as a mirror to contemporary anxieties while gesturing toward unresolved futures.