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Bolashenkova E. The Golden Age and National Heroes: Historical Memory and the Importance of Memory Studies in Post-Soviet Tajikistan

Ekaterina Bolashenkova
Saint Petersburg University
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0009-0000-3541-3129
E-mail: e.bolashenkova@spbu.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article examines historical memory problems focusing on Post-Soviet Tajikistan. An attempt is made to show the importance of memory studies, and to find out how relevant the methods of this discipline can be when applied to Tajikistan. The matter of interest here is not the past itself, as seen by a historian, but rather its modern, transformed images, as seen by an anthropologist. The present case seems a significant illustration for the ethno-symbolism approach to nations and nationalism developed by Anthony D. Smith. The “golden age” about which Smith wrote is represented here by the Samanid era (9–10th centuries), one of the “national heroes” — by Emir Ismail Samani (reigned 892–907), the “sacred territories” — by the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Another thought-provoking subject is the connection between historical memory and power. The author aims to find exact reasons why certain images of the Samanid era are becoming popular in present-day Tajikistan. Today, historical memory can be reflected in various sources, such as written texts, objects of material culture, or informants’ narration. It is presented both in official state rhetoric and in ordinary people’s beliefs. Due to the abundance and diversity of the sources available, one can expect to obtain noteworthy results.

 

KEYWORDS: Central Asia, Post-Soviet Tajikistan, historical memory, memory studies, the Samanid state, golden age

 

FOR CITATION: Bolashenkova E. The Golden Age and National Heroes: Historical Memory and the Importance of Memory Studies in post-Soviet Tajikistan. Kunstkamera. 2023. 3(21): 17–28. (In Russian). doi 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-3(21)-17-28  

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-3(21)-17-28
УДК 930.1

 

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