The Eurasian Knot

They go by many names. Xiao mai. Samosa. Momo. Mani. Pelmeni. Vareniki. Khinkali. That’s right, dumplings! That delicious meat-wrapped-in-dough dish! The dumpling is one of the most transhistorical foods on the planet. Almost every culture has its own taste, shape and tradition. It’s a source of pride and pudge. The dumpling is a favorite of the anthropologist, Helen Faller. She’s embarked on a personal and cultural journey with the dumpling in Central Asia. How are they made? And why are they so damn difficult? Who does the labor? What kinds of community do dumplings create? The Eurasian Knot spoke to Faller about her love of the dumpling and its place in Kazakhstan family and society. And, of course, we talk about how yummy they are. Start drooling, dear listeners.

Guest:

Helen Faller is an anthropologist with expertise in Russia and Central Asia. She’s the author of Nation, Language, Islam: Tatarstan’s Sovereignty Movement published by Central European University Press. She’s now working on a book about the social and cultural life of the dumpling in Central Asia.
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The history of Chechens, or Nokhchi, is defined by war, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. Yet despite these repeated traumas, the Nokhchi have persisted, resisted and survived. But how? Chechens comprise such a relatively small population, almost 2 million today. This is the question Marat Iliyasov asked himself as he entered adulthood. Given this history of violence, and uncertain future, what has inspired Chechens to continue getting married and raising families? Marat set out to find answers, which eventually became a book, Reproducing Resistance: Chechen Demography in Times of War. Chechen survival, he argues, was the result of the collective identities born from their traumatic history. Knowing little about Chechnya, the Eurasian Knot spoke to Marat about his book, how he dealt with questions of marriage, family and sex, and Nokhchi identity in Chechnya and in the Chechen diaspora.

Guest:

Marat Iliyasov is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the College of the Holy Cross. He’s the author of Reproducing Resistance: Chechen Demography in Times of War published by Bloomsbury.
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Maya, the heroine of Svetlana Satchkova’s The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, is an aspiring Russian filmmaker. And after fits and starts she finally gets a break when the producer Belov greenlights her project. Maya’s film is an art-house horror flick about a resurrected Lenin who seeks to take control of Moscow with an army of zombies at his back. Maya has no political intent with the movie. To her, it’s just a horror film. She’s also naive to what Russia has become. All art is politically infused. The artist’s intent is meaningless. Maya is eventually denounced to the authorities, who, in turn, see zombie Lenin as a political satire of Putin’s Russia. To her shock and distress, Maya’s life is quickly turned upside down. The plot of The Undead unfortunately has a long tradition. Think of Lydia Chukovskaya’s Sofia Petrovna or Milan Kundera's The Joke. It’s when ordinary, innocent people get sucked into the oppressive machine of the state. The Eurasian Knot spoke to Satchkova about The Undead, her English debut, and how Maya’s fate speaks not just to the realities of artists and art in Russia, but also, to art in other authoritarian states past and present. It’s a tale of shifting political sands, the meaning of collaboration, and how the system grinds up even the most unassuming people.

Guest:

Svetlana Satchkova is a Russian-born journalist and novelist. She’s the author of three novels in Russian. Her latest novel is The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, her English-language debut, published by Melville House.
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World War II casts a long, dark shadow over eastern Europe. Especially in those nations caught between the Wehrmacht and Red Army. Some locals joined the Nazis, others served in the Red Army, and some others fought against both. Many more simply fled or hunkered down hoping just to survive. Regardless, the memory of the war doesn’t tolerate nuance. If you fought, you were either on the Nazi or Soviet side, even if the goal was to liberate yourself. Reality was much more complicated, says Harry Merritt in Latvian Soldiers of World War II: Fighting for the Homeland in Nazi and Soviet Service. Both Soviet and Nazis created special Latvian regiments to fight for their side. Why? What did it mean to Latvian in the service of the occupiers? And how does the experience of these Latvian soldiers complicate the war, its meaning, and memory then and now? The Eurasian Knot hasn’t given the Baltics its due, so we jumped at the opportunity to talk to Harry Merritt to learn more about this complex and controversial aspect of war on the eastern front.

Guest:

Harry C. Merritt teaches in the Department of History at Rhode Island College. He’s the author of Latvian Soldiers of World War II: Fighting for the Homeland in Nazi and Soviet Service published by Oxford University Press.
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An overlooked destination for thousands immigrating out of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union was Mexico. The reasons were many. Jews fled anti-semitic violence. Religious groups like the Molokans left because of persecution. Many more left in the wake of war, revolution, famine, and political repression. Regardless, Mexico was a viable alternative with the US borders closed to immigration in the interwar period. Collectively known as Los Rusos, these “Russians” built new lives, integrated into Mexican society, or eventually ended up in Los Angeles with the help of some dubious “ethnopolitical entrepreneurs.” Who were the Los Rusos? What was their immigrant experience like? How did the weather during the years of anti-communist hysteria, spy mania, and xenophobia? And why has Mexico eluded our attention as a destination for refugees from the Russian empire? The Eurasian Knot spoke to Andrew Jenks about his new book, Los Rusos: The Russian Departure to Mexico and Southern California, 1900-1965, to learn more.

Guest:

Andrew Jenks is a professor of history at California State University Long Beach. He has published books on the history of space exploration, folk art, the environment, and migration. He’s the author of Los Rusos: The Russian Departure to Mexico and Southern California, 1900–1965 published by Cornell University Press.
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