"Equalizing misery, differentiating objects: The material world of the Stalinist exile", in: Material Culture in Russia and the USSR Things, Values, Identities, ed. by G.H. Roberts, Bloomsbury, 2017, p. 29-53. (original) (raw)

This paper explores the complex relationship between material objects and personal narratives during the Stalinist exile, focusing on a specific case study of Ol'ga Vidlovskaya, a deportee from Western Ukraine. It highlights how a seemingly simple object, a feather bed, serves as a significant symbol of survival, emotional connection, and memory, revealing the multifaceted role of material culture in the lives of exiled individuals. Through the lens of Vidlovskaya’s experiences, the work emphasizes the interplay of absence and presence in the material world, and how objects can foster social bonds and evoke memories of homeland and family.