Today the New York Times writes about fashion designer Denis Simachev, whose main gimmick is the incorporation of Soviet era symbols, cues and kitsch into apparel items that can cost upwards of $2,000. There are some priceless quotes in the story, such as the designer remarking that “People in their 30s see these kinds of symbols as reminders of happy memories, like going to pioneer camp where they lived together, ate breakfast together and played sports.” Others don’t have the same experience when they see Stalin’s face emblazoned across trendy t-shirts: “Personally, I would never wear something by Denis Simachev because, for me, those symbols mean Stalinist terror, Communism, a K.G.B. spy system and the cold war,” said Alexandre Vassiliev, a fashion historian. And so continues the complex process of Russia negotiating its understanding of recent history and national identity… Simachev isn’t the first to discover how much merchandise you can move by using the president’s image, but he is certainly right in knowing that Russians are tired of being told to be ashamed of a past for which they are not responsible. 
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4 Comments
Different symbols evoke different emotions in different people. In the U.S., there is never-ending debate about public displays of the old Confederate battle flag, which is as poignant a banner to some as it is a repulsive sign of racism and slavery to others. We in the West may not easily admit that for many Russians (and this is true for people throughout the old Soviet Union), Communism held and continues to hold a certain appeal, and that the Soviet experience will continue shape the future of post 1989 Russia and eastern Europe.
Yes, I think that that is exactly my point – however I don’t really buy into it from an ideological point of view (especially when these overcoats bearing hammer-and-sickle buttons cost over two thousand dollars), but rather from an identity politics point of view. There is no reason why Russia can’t point proudly at its past achievements (and there are many), bear the nationalist mantle like anyone else, and still get along with the rest of the world.I think that the French writer Amin Maalouf said it best – we identify most strongly with our qualities perceived to be most under threat.
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