A IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Viktoria Bavykina (British Council 90th Anniversary Research Fellow, 2025)
Reframing Histories: 'Russian' Avant-garde in Decolonial Studies
My postdoctoral research began with the intention of exploring the artistic movements of Kazakhstan, Lithuania, and Ukraine — three countries whose cultural development was significantly shaped and constrained by Russian and later Soviet imperial rule. What these regions share is not only a history of colonial domination but also a striking absence in global art historical discourse, as well as most of the post-Soviet countries' cultures.
What emerged early in my research is the asymmetry of knowledge: while art from these post-Soviet regions remains still underrepresented in the global context, the Russian avant-garde is celebrated in nearly every major museum and art history curriculum worldwide. Yet this internationally recognised movement — often romanticised and treated as universally progressive — has never been systematically examined from a decolonial perspective, but perhaps should?
The term Russian avant-garde was presented and popularised in the mid-20th century by British author Camilla Gray, became foundational for global narratives of modernism. However, it is rooted in an imperial framework that ignored or absorbed the artistic contributions of non-Russian artists within the empire. Its continued presentation as a monolithic Russian achievement reflects both the enduring power of imperial epistemologies and the inertia of Western academic institutions.
Today, my research focuses on applying decolonial methodologies to studying this canonised movement: critically revisiting Gray’s influential work and tracing how its assumptions persist in contemporary scholarship. What happens when we reconsider the so-called Russian avant-garde not as a neutral artistic category, but as a product of empire? What new art histories emerge when we reframe the conversation through the lens of decoloniality?
Please join in-person, or click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/81113670095
Passcode: 38bakW8E