2025, vol. 13, no. 3. Garaev D.M.

2025, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 684-693

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-3.684-693

EDN: https://elibrary.ru/THNWVQ

   THE IMAGE OF THE GOLDEN HORDE IN (POST)SOVIET
HISTORICAL MEMORY: BETWEEN THE LANGUAGE
OF HOSTILITY AND A SHARED SITE OF MEMORY

D.M. Garaev
Federal Scientific Center for Psychological
and Interdisciplinary Research (Kazan branch)
Kazan, Russian Federation
danis.garaev@gmail.com

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to analyze the modern image of the Golden Horde in Russian-language media and journalism in the Russian-speaking post-Soviet space, to identify key discursive frames and their influence on the construction of identities and cultural processes. In Russia today, many actors are challenge this narrative, highlighting cultural hybridity and the Horde’s administrative sophistication. In Central Asian republics like Kazakhstan, the Golden Horde is increasingly reclaimed as a source of pride and state legitimacy.
Research materials: The research materials are articles, books and films about the Golden Horde, which were produced in the post-Soviet space (primarily in Russia and Kazakhstan). The article traces representations of the Horde in contemporary media, literature, and the performing arts, revealing a spectrum from exoticized enemy to civilizational partner.
Results and scientific novelty: Through discourse analysis, the study highlights how the memory of the Golden Horde functions as a contested space for negotiating historical trauma, cultural legacy, and aspirations for pluralistic identity. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that the Golden Horde remains a powerful cultural metaphor – serving simultaneously as a mirror of modern anxieties and a resource for alternative historical imaginaries.
The novelty of the study is that in this article we show for the first time how the image of the Horde is reflected in modern culture not only as a space of competition, but also as a space of interaction and positive rethinking. The relevance of this study lies in the enduring role of historical memory and representations of the past in shaping contemporary cultural processes, as well as in the need for a nuanced understanding of identity formation within the multiethnic and multireligious landscape of post-Soviet Eurasia.

Keywords: Golden Horde, post-Soviet memory, identity, cultural politics, historiography, popular culture, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tatarstan, historical narrative

For citation: Garaev D.M. The image of the Golden Horde in (Post)Soviet historical memory: between the language of hostility and a shared site of memory. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2025, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 684–693. https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-3.684-693

Financial Support: This work was supported by the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project No. 0599-2019-0043 “The Problem of Deviant Behavior in the System of Modern Human Studies”).

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danis M. Garaev – Ph.D. (history), Senior Researcher at the Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (Kazan branch) (12, Isaev Str., Kazan 420039, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0003-4176-7761. E-mail: danis.garaev@gmail.com

Received  26.03.2025
Revised  27.08.2025
Accepted  22.09.2025