Lubyanka: Dissonant memories of violence in the heart of Moscow

Abstract

An infamous Soviet edifice, the Lubyanka’s yellow bulk still stands in central Moscow. The building is controlled by the federal security service (FSB), the contemporary security services, and the FSB provides no tangible acknowledgment of the building’s past. Yet, it is not erased; instead, the surrounding landscape has become a meaningful space for memorializing the victims of Soviet repression. Although the government’s official policy is to ignore or muffle the Lubyanka’s dark heritage, other actors have stepped in to interpret this painful legacy in various ways. This article examines different processes of heritagization and memory work within this “heritagescape.” It sheds light on the Lubyanka area’s polysemic meanings and sociopolitical roles in contemporary Russia, as well as the contested processes of heritagization and memorialization at sites of violence. It also introduces the idea of “accountability” as a concept that can be communicated at a heritage site, especially at times of increased state violence.