It is September, which means it is time for another season of Online Talks on Eurasian Media – the collaborative initiative between TaRC and the Russian Media Lab (University of Helsinki)!
The rules are the same as before: we meet on Zoom at lunchtime on the second Tuesday of each month to hear interesting presentations on things, phenomena, and developments related to Eurasian media.
We understand the word “media” in a broad sense. Hence, the talks and discussions will address topics ranging from fake news to internet regulation, from digital cultures to artificial intelligence in the media, and from journalistic freedom to propaganda.
We will kick off the 2026/27 season on Tuesday 15 September with Dr Rashid Gabdulhakov’s presentation on Soviet nostalgia in Central Asian online discourses.
Online communities and thematic groups centred on Soviet nostalgia have grown significantly in recent years, turning the digital sphere into an important arena for negotiating memory, identity, and belonging.
In Central Asia, these narratives are especially significant as states navigate the legacies of Soviet rule, ongoing processes of postcolonial nation-building, their “neutral” positions toward Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the diversification of foreign policy through engagement with Western and other international partners.
The presentation examines some of the recurring narratives of Soviet nostalgia in online discourse across Central Asia and addresses the relationship between digital spaces and everyday offline life.
By looking at the online/offline dynamics through which nostalgic representations of the Soviet past are circulated, normalized, and contested, the talk considers how these narratives intersect with questions of postcolonialism, sovereignty, national identity, and historical memory.
Nostalgia may challenge narratives of independence and nation-building by reproducing imperial imaginaries or legitimizing contemporary geopolitical influence. How should these narratives be critically addressed without reducing complex engagements with the Soviet past to a simple opposition between nostalgia and nationalism?
Speaker bio:
Dr Rashid Gabdulhakov is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Gabdulhakov’s research has examined digital vigilantism in Russia and Central Asia. His current research interests include digital nostalgia, rural media studies, and disinformation.
Event info:
This Online Talk will be held on Zoom on Tuesday 15 September 2026, 12.00–13.30 Finnish time (GMT+3). Discussion will be moderated by Dr Olga Dovbysh (University of Helsinki).
Participation in the event requires registration. Please register via this link before Sunday 13 September 2026, 23.59 Finnish time.