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9 October, 19:00: From Autocracy to War

Photo: Young people sit near a street exhibition of military posters named ‘Together to Victory’ dedicated to Russian army in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Documentary play, Sociological Research presentation & Discussion
When: 9 October, 19:00
Location: Dialogbüro Vienna (Eßlinggasse 9/6, 1010 Wien)
Language: English; reading in English with Russian subtitles
Entry: Free Registration here
Live translation on YouTube: here

THE EVENT INCLUDES:

  • A reading of an excerpt from a documentary play (directed by Diana Meyerhold)
  • Report & Essay presentations by independent social researchers
  • A discussion with the audience
We invite you to the presentation of a project based on the diaries of social researchers that explores the everyday realities of Russia’s transformation. Collecting war-related experiences and personal stories helps not only preserve history and therefore avoid same mistakes in the future, but also important for society — encouraging understanding, compassion, and the hope of a more peaceful future. It will be a symbolic journey — an opportunity to ask: What was this way from the Russia of the past to the Russia of today?

Photo: Personal archive of the project's authors

Throughout 2023-2024, sociologists living in Russia and abroad met weekly online to reflect on the current reality during the aggression against Ukraine by exchanging their personal stories and observations on war-related topics, drawn from everyday contexts such as family, workplace, public transport, schools, conversations with friends and others. The issues they observed were related to propaganda on war and occupied territories, anti-war-topics, human rights, education, gender, LGBTQ+, environment, migration.
Involvement in diverse contexts and transnational networks allowed the researchers to trace changes in the life of different people in Russia against the background of the war in Ukraine, including in activism and professional spheres.
These narratives, based on personal autobiographical stories and autoethnographies, formed the basis of eight scientific essays exploring different aspects of life in Russia during wartime.

Based on the findings, in addition, a script for a documentary play was developed, exploring the everyday realities of a changing Russia: from railway conductors' experiences to concerned dialogues in parents' chat groups, from conversations about the war to questions about where everything is heading. It is a story about what remains behind the scenes of the newsfeed and about those whose voices deserve to be heard.
The event in Vienna on October 9 will offer insight into the country's living against the war – portrayed both from a sociological perspective and through personal stories. It will feature a reading of an excerpt from a documentary play, short presentations by independent social researchers, and an open discussion with the audience. Join us for this theatrical experiment and an in-depth reflection on Russia’s present and past.

Photo: “Peace (for all!)”, an anonymous writing in a Russian city. Personal archive of the project's authors

2025-10-01 14:53