Claiming the ‘right to a happy Soviet childhood’

Discursive enactment of memory citizenship among Russian-speakers in Estonia

Bibliographic Data

ID11263489
AuthorsPiia Tammpuu (0000-0002-2056-9048, University of Tartu, corresponding author), Jānis Juzefovičs (0000-0001-7285-1806, University of Tartu), Külliki Seppel (0000-0003-3188-2483, University of Tartu)
Year2020
Volume51
Issue2
Pages243-260
Publication date2020-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Baltic Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-9778 • E-ISSN: 1751-7877
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01629778.2020.1746677
OpenAlexW3015899235
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited40

Drawing on the concept of memory citizenship, this study examines the discursive enactment of citizenship evoked by social contention around memories of the Soviet past among the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia. It scrutinizes the rhetorical strategies and argumentative practices applied by Estonian Russian-speakers in social media discourse to defy the perceived politicization of Soviet childhood and the claim for recognition and inclusion both as mnemonic actors and political subjects. The paper demonstrates the potential of digital and performative modes of citizenship for minority publics to exercise their civic agency beyond conventional realms and forms of political participation

Citizenship · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Russian language · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Science and Policy Research