A mosaic of reflections on the topics of decolonization, post-socialism, migration, disability, the experience of lesbians, trans*persons, people with migration background. The authors of our texts are researchers, NGO workers, activists.

Researchers Lesya Pagulich and Tatyana Shchurko (2020) believe that “decolonial theory, critical race theory, Black feminist thought and queer of color critique have powerful tools and theoretical frameworks to address such issues as colonialism, imperialism, and structural inequality in the transnational perspective”[1]. Criticizing liberalism as the only scenario proposed to the countries of the former USSR, researchers suggest paying attention to its interpretation by Neda Antanasoski and Kalindi Vora, who view “post-socialist imaginations as “radical and decolonial imaginaries of collectivity and political action” (Atanasoski and Vora 2018), destabilizing and dismantling “Western hegemony, imperialism, colonialism, and racial capitalism".

Interpreting post-socialism as a global state, Feminist Translocalities zine focuses on its imperial and colonial aspects, as well as asserts and emphasizes the diversity and significance of the experience of queer feminist researchers and activists from post-socialist countries. Shchurko and Pagulich (2020) ask what place the studies of post-socialism occupy in the debate about the global coloniality of power, noting that the post-Soviet space is rarely analyzed in the context of colonialism and imperialism and seems to be “raceless”. In criticizing racism, one often hears arguments about the impossibility to transfer the American experience to the countries of the former USSR. As researcher Lana Uzarashvili writes, “It is clear that colonial and racist regimes are different, and discrimination against black people in America is different from that directed at them and other non-whites in Russia. However, the way people are categorized in empires shows similarities. ” The zine texts place the experience of non-white women at the center of the history of the Russian Empire and the USSR.

Structures of global inequality shape and condition migration paths, creating situations of “homelessness” - not belonging to any of the contexts. Translocalities contain decolonial and feminist reflections on the histories of one's own country, family, personal histories of the search for “home”. The authors of the zine question the past and present of the countries of the former USSR, claiming the place of homo- and trans*sexuality, disability, and the experience of non-white women in it. Talking about the challenges of feminist and LGBTIQ* activism, the work of NGOs and the discipline of gender studies, the texts of Feminist Translocalities show the diversity and complexity of the stories of resistance.

This zine is not an academic initiative. It contains texts by researchers, activists, artists. The texts were collected as part of a call, one of the goals of which was not to reject anyone if the text or work was in line with the theme of the zine. Our selection is not perfect - there are many texts from Russia in the zine. However, Russia is not a homogeneous space for us - our authors come from regions experiencing ongoing colonial violence. This zine is not a complete statement, but a set of impulses for reflection.

Author of the idea: Vika Kravtsova.

Design: Ludmila Delarova, Katya Pislari.

Translation, editing, interviews: Anita Azizi, Vita Chiknyaeva, Nastya Chasovskikh, Margarita Malina, Vica Kravtsova, Irina Sharkady, Alexandra Frank, Taisiya Shchelkanova, Maria Dmitrieva, Sofia Bazhenova, Aida Akhmedova, Gulzada Serzhan, Sofia Smirnova, Liza Guryeva, Anyhela Sileva.

Authors of texts, artworks, illustrations: Alexandra Biktimirova, Diana Khalimova, Sasha Talaver, Diana Mikhailova, Tansulpan Burakaeva, Aynaza Karakay, Victoria Sarangova, Alexander Murtazaev, Simon Nezoriy, Elizaveta Khudaberdieva, Anna Golovina, Saida Sirazhudininova, Marko Kwirenko, Tanja Sokolnykova, Nina Serova, Amalia Prtavyan, Altynai Kambekova, Tamara Martsenyuk, Anastasia Pastushok, Tonya Melnyk, Friedrich Chernyshev, Saltanat Shoshanova, Marina Israilova, Nadezhda Sayapina, Leyli Gafarova, Mano Svanidze, Parvana Rahimova, Zhanna Dologova, Uliana Bychenkova, Saadat Salieva, Yulia Gradskova, Nastya Krasilnikova, Daria Gornovich, Lika Kareva, Olga Kozmanidze, Daria Rokossovskaya, Daria Apakhonchich, Yulia Litvinova, Mariam Agamyan, Katya Ptashka, Alena Levina.

Feminist Translocalities exhibitions were held in 10 cities of Russia in 2020 and 2021. You can also download a “newspaper” version of a part of the exhibition on the Russian version of this page.

How inclusive is our understanding of history? The posters tell us about experiences that have been consistently excluded from the discussions about women in history. BIPoC, migrant workers, trans*persons, non-heterosexual women - it's important to see their role in the stories of resistance. Only by understanding the complexity of the past can we think about other scenarios for the future.