A woman in Russia said Central Asian people start looking more intelligent after living in Saint Petersburg, as “Saint Petersburg civilises everyone.” (10/13)
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My encounters with colonialism. Or why decolonisation is also a personal endeavour. 🧵 (1/13)
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When I did my fieldwork in Russia, I noticed a stark contrast in how my respondents would treat me (I am very Central Asian looking), as opposed to my colleagues from Western Europe. (2/13)
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When I was on a bus with my daughter in Moscow, not saying a word and minding my own business, a woman looked at me and said: “Eww, the hairy monkeys are everywhere.” (3/13)
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My brother was constantly asked to show the contents of his pockets in shops in Moscow. (4/13)
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It took my brother over a month to find (very bad) accommodation in Moscow despite the fact he had a stable job. The advertisements in newspapers openly say: “Renting only to Slavic people.” (5/13)
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In Russia, I was constantly commented on how good my Russian is. I am a native speaker of Russian. (6/13)
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A Russian lady who sat next to me on a plane said that my last name sounds funny and I should change it if I get a chance. (7/13)
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During fieldwork in Russia, people would be openly hostile to me during interviews or patronising. They would question my authority or knowledge before even hearing me speak (this is intersectional because I am a young woman). (8/13)
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A Russian man approached me and asked, why do I study Russia. In his view, since I am from Turkmenistan, researching Russia for someone like me would be “equivalent to studying Zimbabwe.” (9/13)
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And the irony is that this country tries to “fix” and “denazify” another country. Racism exists everywhere, except that in Russia it is not even shameful; in that country, it is morally acceptable to be openly racist. No one will call off this behaviour. (11/13)
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