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PODCAST

Reimagining Soviet Georgia

Reimagining Soviet Georgia

Reimagining Soviet Georgia is a Tbilisi based history initiative focused on the Soviet Union, Georgia & the South Caucasus, socialism & post-socialism.

history

All Episodes

00:57:00

Episode 66: Youth and Bolshevik Power in Georgia with...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2026/03/23

On today’s episode we explore the emergence and development of Bolshevism in Georgia, from the Russian Empire-wide revolutionary moments of 1905 and 1917, through the era of Menshevik rule in the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), to the establishment and first decade of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic 1921-1931.In the discussion, we examine the local roots of Bolshevism in Georgia in the years prior to Sovietization in 1921, as well as the role of youth and youth organizations in

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01:03:39

Episode 65: Poverty Alleviation and Socialist...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2026/03/09

This weeks discussion thematically compliments and follows on our previous episode on Marxism and China (episode 64 - give it a listen!).Sitting down with Tings Chak, we examine China’s radical transformations from 1949 until today by centering a few questions: how was the mass alleviation of poverty accomplished in China? Is it an ongoing process? What does “socialist construction” have to do with it? Is China socialist? What kinds of contradictions has Chinese economic development faced? And how

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02:09:14

Episode 64: Marxism & China with Josef Gregory Mahoney

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2026/02/21

On today’s episode we have a wide reaching, in depth and fascinating discussion on Chinese Marxism. We examine Marxism’s historical emergence in China and it’s adaptation to Chinese conditions - both as an idea guiding the Communist Party of China that culminated in the 1949 Chinese revolution as well as post-1949 state craft and socialist development in China. We also pay special attention to the influences of the Russian Revolution and Soviet Union on Chinese Marxism and socialism, as well as the

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01:05:10

Episode 63: Border Delimitation in the Early Soviet...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/12/23

On today’s episode we discuss internal border delimitation in the early Soviet Union. Our discussion covers a wide geography - from Central Asia to the South Caucasus to the Ukrainian-Russia borderlands. How did internal borders get delimited after the establishment of Soviet power in the 1920s and 30s? What role did borders play in nation building? And how do economic factors shape the border delimitation process?Our guest today is Stephan Rindlisbacher author of the book Borders in Red: Managing

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01:10:17

Episode 62: Afghanistan, Anti-Imperial Modernity and...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/12/04

On today's episode we discuss Afghan communism and the consequences of the 1978 Saur Revolution in the context of a longer story of Afghan anti-imperial modernity and Soviet-Afghan relations.How and why was the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan different from interventions by other powers in the country? How do analyses of the 1979 Soviet invasion that center the “empire” framework limit our understanding of the history of Afghan anti-imperial modernity, Soviet-Afghan relations and

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01:29:29

Episode 61: Far-Right Nationalism, Memory Politics...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/11/13

On today’s episode we explore the role of the historical Ukrainian far-right, specifically the Nazi-collaborationist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, in the development of post-Soviet Ukraine’s national memory regime. In particular we address a paradox - how did these far right political formations and their historical narratives, despite limited and regionally specific popularity, assume disproportionate influence on Ukraine’s post-Soviet national-memory

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00:59:06

Episode 60: Soviet Development Assistance to Ghana,...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/10/31

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet Union began a new era of political engagement with the global south. One feature was development assistance. The Soviet Union embodied, offered and inspired an alternative approach to development, industrialization and modernization across the global south. Countries such as Ghana, Guinea and Mali in the 1950s-60s were governed by nationalists, not Marxists or Communists, and were newly independent from European imperial-colonial control.Soviet specialists

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01:01:13

Episode 59: The Soviet Red Cross, Socialist...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/10/17

In the 1950s, the Soviet Red Cross gained positions in the governing bodies of the International League of the Red Cross, supported by newly established Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in the decolonizing world. Seeking to shape public opinion abroad, it established medical and research facilities in Algeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Cambodia. The Soviet Red Cross also had a presence in India, where Soviet doctors practiced medicine, published research in Indian journals, and

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01:02:46

Episode 58: Socialist Feminism in Post-WW2 East...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/09/19

We sit down with Adela Hîncu, historian and editor of the volume Texts and Contexts from the History of Feminism and Women’s Rights East Central Europe, Second Half of the Twentieth Century (2024) to discuss feminist thought in post World War 2 socialist East Central Europe.Book description:A compendium of one hundred sources, preceded by a short author’s bio and an introduction, this volume offers an English language selection of the most representative texts on feminism and women’s rights from

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01:31:13

Episode 57: A Global History of Greek Communism with...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/08/11

On today’s episode we discuss how international and regional communist parties and actors influenced the political development of the Greek Communist Party between 1918-1956, with a special focus on the Soviet Union and the Balkans. Our guest Nikos Marantzidis published his book Under Stalin’s Shadow: A Global History of Greek Communism in 2023.Book description:Under Stalin's Shadow examines the history of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1918 to 1956, showing how closely national

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01:13:32

Episode 56: Human Rights and the Rise of...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/07/16

What is the relationship between "human rights" and neoliberalism? How deeply are contemporary ideas, ideals, and visions of "human rights" influenced by neoliberalism? What can early theorists and ideologues of neoliberalism tell us about Cold War and post-Cold War uses of human rights discourse in international organizations and governance? And what are the implications of it all for a country like Georgia which experienced radical neoliberal reforms and state-economy building

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01:23:06

Episode 55: Soviet History, the Left and the Crisis...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/06/18

In this wide reaching discussion, we sit down with historian Alex Marshall. Using his own works such as "The Caucasus under Soviet Rule" (2010) and the edited volume "Global Impacts of Russia's Great War and Revolution: The Arc of Revolution, 1917-24" (2019) as jumping off points, we discuss everything from how Soviet history is written and persistent historiographic debates, to why the Soviet past is still relevant to the left and how current political shifts influence how

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01:00:18

Episode 54: The 1936 Stalin Constitution and...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/06/11

On today's episode we explore the ins and outs of the 1936 Soviet Constitution - also known as the "Stalin Constitution" - how it was written, what it guaranteed, what led to its drafting, how it affected life in the USSR as well as the social, political and economic contexts surrounding its drafting. We pay particular attention to how the tensions between central authority in Moscow, regional actors and popular sovereignty created a unique context for the practice and development of

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01:16:57

Episode 53: Soviet Housing and its Afterlives in...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/05/28

On today's episode we welcome architect and researcher Levan Asabashvili to discuss the emergence and development of public housing in the Georgian SSR and what happened to Georgia's housing stock after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We also explore how Soviet-wide architectural trends in different periods (early Soviet, Stalinist, post-World War 2) manifested in the Georgian SSR and how architecture aligned with ideology, economics and nationhood, with special attention to housing in the

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01:20:09

Episode 52: Global Order, Geopolitics and Neutrality...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/05/14

On today's episode we examine how broader shifts in the global order, globalization and geopolitical trends since the end of the Cold War led to the current European security crisis and political context for the Russo-Ukraine War. We also explore how this context shapes Georgia's geopolitical and security environment, and is sowing the seeds for more open discussions about what geopolitical neutrality and explicit multi-vectorism could mean for Georgia. With guest co-host Beka Natsvlishvili,

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01:09:55

Episode 51: Reflections on Soviet History with Sheila...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/04/16

Since the 1970s, historian Sheila Fitzpatrick has made invaluable contributions to our understanding of the Soviet Union. As a key figure in the "revisionist school" of Soviet history, Fitzpatrick along with other historians opposed entrenched Cold War era narratives about the USSR including (but not limited to) the "totalitarian thesis". Fitzpatrick in particular added texture and complexity in her studies of the Soviet Union by focusing on social history, perspectives

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01:30:37

Episode 50: US Labor Unions, Anti-Communism and the...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/04/01

On today's episode we discuss the book Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade with author Jeff Schuhrke. Blue-Collar Empire explores how the CIA used American unions to undermine workers at home and subvert democracy abroad through the shocking story of the AFL-CIO’s global anticommunist crusade—and its devastating consequences for workers around the world.Unions have the power not only to secure pay raises and employee benefits but to bring economies

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01:07:37

Episode 49: History & Anti-Communism with Stefan Gužvica

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/03/19

Writing histories of communism and "really existing socialism" have been fraught with political tension for decades. On the one hand, sectarian debates in the global left too often overlooked the nuances of really existing socialism and cutting edge academic research in order to align with specific ideological orientations. On the other hand, and far more consequential, Cold War-era anti-communism (and the collapse of the Soviet Union that followed) engendered generations of historians -

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01:24:37

Episode 48: Marxism and Academia in Soviet Georgia...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2025/02/07

After World War 2, during the period of developed socialism, a rich ecosystem of Marxist intellectuals and academics emerged in the Georgian SSR. Universities and scientific institutes in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Telavi, and Batumi were home to sociologists, philosophers, anthropologists, historians and other academics who took part in Soviet wide and international discussions and debates on different aspects of Marxist theory or Marxist inspired academic research. Since the collapse of the USSR in

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01:12:23

Episode 47: EU Referendum and Elections in Moldova...

Reimagining Soviet Georgia ·

2024/11/07

On October 20th 2024, Moldova held a presidential election and a referendum, supposedly on the question of integration into the EU. The referendum passed with a slight majority – 50.35% vs 49.65%. Two rounds of a presidential election were also held in the country, with the EU favored candidate Maia Sandu winning. While many observers have interpreted the results as indicative of the country being divided between a pro-EU and pro-Russian faction and Russia’s meddling in the elections, the situation

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