Huns on the Ruins of Socialism: Public Past in Inner Asian Cities

Abstract

This paper examines the process of Hunnic symbols introduction to urban space. The question is, why rapidly expanding and modernizing cities at the same time create so many references to ancient archaeological cultures that previously played almost no role in the urban or national culture? The main emphasis is on public past in two cities: Ulaanbaatar and Ulan-Ude. In order to provide insight into this variety of social behaviours, an increased focus is put on: indigenous placemaking, shamanic activity in the city, new temporalization and local politics of memory. As a consequence of these processes, new senses of urban space, time and history are established. The study presents the results of ethnographic fieldwork in Mongolia and Eastern Siberia 2018–2020.