Ruin in the Realm of Soviet Techno-Utopia

Definitions, Functions, and the Expansion of the Concept

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the historiography of research on ruins in urban and techno-utopian spaces. The paper identifies analytical clusters, defines their functions, and proposes a new concept of «ruins of imperialism», relevant for understanding the transformations of the material heritage of Western Ukraine in the Soviet context.

Methods. The methodology combines historical-cultural, sociological, and visual analysis. The study draws on historiographical approaches to the study of ruins, including Georg Simmel’s ideas of ruins as material carriers of time and nostalgia, as well as contemporary research on urban, industrial, and political transformations. Particular attention is given to the analysis of visual and cultural practices.

Results. The historiographical analysis identifies four interconnected clusters of research on ruins. The first cluster – ruins and the techno-utopian decay of infrastructure – considers ruins as negative markers of socio-political and modernisation processes. The second cluster – ruins as instruments of political and ideological mobilisation – examines how ruins are integrated into urban transformations, shaping collective memory and cultural meanings of regimes. The third cluster– visual and cultural representation of ruins in art – treats ruins as active symbols shaping perceptions of historical time, memory, and social processes. The fourth cluster – ruins in the context of memory studies – considers them as material mediators of collective identity and cultural memory.

In this study, ruins are analysed not only as physical decay but as symbolic spaces, which intertwine history, social processes, and cultural imagination. Based on this analysis, the concept of «ruins of imperialism» is suggested to designate the material remnants of infrastructure and architecture of former imperial regimes in Western Ukraine, which after World War II were either integrated into Soviet modernisation or remained marginalised. This concept is relevant because it allows these objects to be understood as visible traces of historical rule, while also assessing their role in shaping local memory, nostalgia, and identity in the post-imperial space.

Conclusions. Ruins elevate material heritage to the status of an active cultural and social agent, which shapes understandings of history, memory, and identity. Infrastructural and architectural remnants of former empires in Western Ukraine did not disappear following integration into the USSR but were transformed into symbolic and functional spaces. The concept of «ruins of imperialism» allows for an analysis that combines material traces of history with their impact on local memory, nostalgia, and cultural identity. The study demonstrates that the continuity and transformation of imperial projects within the Soviet context created a multi-layered space where past and present interact in symbolic and social dimensions.