44 Lenin Avenue

A researcher's journey to Siberia

Klyuev in Tomsk: A story worth exploring?

Filed under: Late-Soviet Period,NKVD,Stalinist repression,Tomsk Memorial NKVD Remand Prison Museum — Wilson Bell at 4:36 pm on Wednesday, February 19, 2020  Tagged , , , , ,

One of the more interesting stories in Tomsk in the 1930s was that of poet Nikolai Kliuev (sometimes spelled Klyuev), discussed earlier in this blog. While I’m still not fully committed to a focus on Kliuev, he draws together some interesting threads from other subjects I’ve been working on in the 44 Lenin Avenue project. […]

Architecture of Repression

The building at 44 Lenin Avenue was of course originally an educational institution. It became a site of repression (*nods to Foucault*), serving as one of two local headquarter buildings for the OGPU/NKVD from 1922-1944. Structurally, this involved converting the basements (of both buildings, if I’m not mistaken) into a remand or investigative prison (следственная […]

30 Years of the Tomsk Memorial Museum, “NKVD Remand Prison”

Filed under: Stalinist repression,Tomsk Memorial NKVD Remand Prison Museum — Wilson Bell at 8:21 pm on Tuesday, June 18, 2019  Tagged , , ,

Just a brief post, but I wanted to highlight a recent exhibition at the NKVD Remand Prison Museum in Tomsk (44 Lenin Avenue), on the 30th anniversary of the local authorities’ decision to designate space to help perpetuate the memory of Stalinist repression, a decision that led to the founding of the Museum. Follow the […]

Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions

Filed under: Monument square,Stalinist repression — Wilson Bell at 4:45 pm on Monday, October 30, 2017  Tagged , , , , , ,

Just a quick note: In Russia, October 30 is officially the “Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions.” As the museum at 44 Lenin Avenue is run by the Tomsk chapter of the Memorial Society, dedicated to preserving the memory of the victims of Soviet-era repression, it’s a key day for the museum […]

Tomsk Peculiarities

Filed under: Monument square,Tomsk regionalism — Wilson Bell at 12:53 pm on Sunday, July 24, 2016  Tagged , , ,

On Friday, while working at the research library (pictured here) of Tomsk State University (TSU, or ТГУ), I discovered that one of the questions scholars have raised about pre-revolutionary Tomsk revolves around its seemingly large number of pro-monarchist, ultra-nationalist organizations. For instance, A. P. Tolochko shows that Tomsk gubernaia had by far the largest number […]