Discussion
The presentation explores various forms of civic initiatives aimed at preserving cultural heritage in the late Soviet Union. Focusing on sacral (religious inspired) architectural monuments that, having been secularized from the church during the Soviet era, became subjects of preservation and restoration efforts in response to their deterioration, destruction and misuse. These initiatives emerged from educated often academic activists, which held diverse perspectives on the religious aspect of this heritage. Yet it was precisely due to this activism that certain monuments, historically affiliated with religious cult, were saved from loss and even restored. During Perestroika, as relationships between state institutions and the church were re-evaluated, de-secularization took shape in the form of renewed religious use of various heritage objects.
Using the micro-case of the "Pearl of the Russian North"—the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery ensemble in the Vologda region—this presentation illustrates diverse forms of activism surrounding this heritage ensemble. The author analyzes the activities of participants in restoration and construction teams that operated each summer season in the monastery ensemble from 1968 to 1988, using oral history and archival documentation. In the 1990s, new forms of activism emerged around this architectural complex, tied to the potential for religious use. This presentation showcases the rise of new activism surrounding this cultural heritage monument and the profound divide between interpretations of cultural and religious heritage. At the same time, through individual biographies, it points to a certain continuity, including generational transitions between activists of the 1970s and those of the 1990s.
