I haven’t posted much since the summer, in part because I am no longer “in the field.” Just a brief update, here. The monument “to the victims of Bolshevik repression” was vandalized just a few days ago, as someone used red spray-paint to place a bust of Stalin on the back of the monument. In some respects, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened more often. The monument is very visible, right in the centre of Tomsk, and Stalin himself has seen a bit of a resurgence in Russia over the last several years. Still, it’s a disturbing reminder of the contested memory of the Stalin era.
(Image from the Memorial Museum “NKVD Remand Prison” website)