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Beyond Diversity
It is the radical, the apocalyptic end of history—not the kind of end-of-history
as is described by contemporary liberal theory. That is why the only real
heritage of today’s post-Communist subject—its real place of origin—is the
complete destruction of every kind of heritage, a radical, absolute break with
the historical past and with any kind of distinct cultural identity. Even the
name of the country “Russia” was erased and substituted by a neutral name
lacking any cultural tradition: Soviet Union. The contemporary Russian,
post-Soviet citizen thus comes from nowhere, from the degree zero at the end
of every possible history.
Now it becomes clear why it is so difficult for cultural studies to describe
the way that post-Communist countries and populations evolved after the
demise of Communism. On the one hand, this path of evolution seems to
be the familiar, well-worn path from a closed society to an open society, from
the community to a civil society. But the Communist community was in
many ways much more radically modern in its rejection of the past than the
countries of the West. And this community was closed not because of the
stability of its traditions but because of the radicality of its projects. And that
means: the post-Communist subject travels the same route as described by
the dominating discourse of cultural studies—but he or she travels this route
in the opposite direction, not from the past to the future, but from the future
to the past; from the end of history, from posthistorical, postapocalyptic time,
back to historical time. Post-Communist life is life lived backward, a movement
against the flow of time. It is, of course, not a completely unique historical
experience. We know of many modern apocalyptic, prophetic, religious
communities which were subjected to the necessity of going back in historical
time. The same can be said of some artistic avant-garde movements, and also
of some politically motivated communities that arose in the 1960s. The chief
difference is the magnitude of a country like Russia, which must now make
its way back—from the future to the past. But it is an important difference.
Many apocalyptic sects have committed collective suicide because they were
incapable of going back in time. But such a huge country as Russia does not
have the option of suicide—it has to proceed backward whatever collective
feelings it has about it.
It goes without saying that the opening of the Communist countries
has meant for their populations, in the first place, not democratization
in political terms but the sudden necessity of surviving under new economic
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