I hear my dad talk in Chechen language and think of what it feels like to lose a country. I think of his stubbornness and immense sense of justice – the foundation of his character; the foundation of mine. I know he belongs to his homeland to the core; I know he finds peace in his language, in his people.

Decolonising Central Asian Art is a regular column from Alexey Ulko. Part 1 considers the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Central Asian art communities and how can moral considerations can epistemologically interwoven within a broader international reflection on coloniality.

Performing mainstream masculine normality in an open space, Dagestani skateboarders practice a westernised hobby meaning they are subject to being rendered a cultural & symbolic ‘other’ within Dagestan.

The leitmotif of this series is a portrait of a generation. A generation of Dagestanis who grew up in an environment of depreciation of their culture, but nevertheless figured out how to return to their roots. A generation of endless potential and texture.

As Zvyagintsev himself postulated even before Loveless’ theatrical release, perhaps “Thomas Hobbes was fundamentally mistaken to idealize the state.”

The Chukchi are pictured in Dekolonizatsiia’s logo. Thus, is it fitting our first post highlights briefly, the role of rituals and rites of Chukchi culture in contemporary Russia.