The Soviet Century

 Karl Schlogel writes a different style of history of the Soviet Union. He makes no attempt at a grand narrative. Nor does he try to reconcile the USSR’s many contradictions. He eschews high politics, big events, and social and economic processes. Instead, he paints history as fragments. And many of them have to do with the minutiae of Soviet everyday life: shopping lines, perfume, wrapping paper, badges, staircases, buildings, and parks. In many ways, Schlogel is an anthropologist and archaeologist–a keen observer of what most of us take for granted and dedicated to excavating these objects to show their particular Sovietness and the world they left behind. Schlogel recently visited Pittsburgh, prompting the Eurasian Knot to pull him into the studio to talk about his recent and final book on the USSR: Soviet Century: An Archeology of a Lost World. Guest: Karl Schlögel is professor emeritus of Eastern European history at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder and a noted journalist. The English translations of his books include Moscow 1937, The Scent of Empires: Chanel No. 5 and Red Moscow, and Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland. His most recent book is The Soviet Century: Archaeology of a Lost World published by University of Princeton Press. Send us your sounds! https://euraknot.org/contact/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/euraknot  Knotty News: https://eurasianknot.substack.com/ The Knot’s Nest: https://eurasian-knot.sellfy.store/  Website: https://euraknot.org/