In the shadow of ‘frontier disloyalty’ at Russia–China–Mongolia border zones

ABSTRACT

The centre orientation and closed character of the Soviet space turned border areas into half-empty places remaining in absolute readiness for confrontation. Frontier forms of socialism were special, not only because of the extremely intense implementation of Soviet methods of modernization, but also because they achieved a particularly high level of political and social sterility of frontier populations. The contradiction between political sterility of border inhabitants and the latter’s emotional inclusion as Cossacks in border defence was dealt with through re-creation of confrontational myths whose performative power was able to combine temporal regimes and cast doubt on the loyalty of the local inhabitants. The paper analyses late Soviet discursive practices concerning the disloyalty of fictional Cossack communities in Inner Asia (Mongolia, China, and Transbaikalia) with their old-fashioned life style and strong anti-Soviet attitudes.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• Russia
• Mongolia
• frontier disloyalty
• Cossacks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Grigory Mikhailovich Semenov (b. 13 [26] September 1896, d. 30 August 1946) was a leader and a controversial symbol of the strong and powerful anti-communist Transbaikalian Cossack uprising. Soviet propaganda connected him to all forms of resistance against the communists in Transbaikalia and Inner Mongolia.

2. Unstructured interviews were conducted in the years 2009–2015 with former Soviet soldiers and local inhabitants of Transbaikalia living in Irkutsk, Chita and Ulan-Ude, Chinese Russians from Hulunbuir (the prefecture-level city in Inner Mongolia) and repatriates from China now living in Priargunsk. The interviews concerned the respondents’ memories of Ataman G. M. Semenov and his followers. The information provided should not compromise the anonymity of the informants.

3. This is the area between the Gan, Haul and Derbul rivers.

4. The popularity of this song can be seen on sites for former soldiers of the Trans-Baikal Military Okrug. See http://zabvo.ru/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?158276.30.