Heritage and the Frontier: Representation of Space in Museums of Kazakhstan

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the ways in which space is perceived in museum expositions in Kazakhstan, old and new frames coexist in museums, and visual patterns representing space changed after the country gained independence. The topic of space gives rise to ambivalent discourses. Since the Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan, there is space infrastructure and domestic cosmonauts; at the same time, space is present in the everyday life of people living in the areas where astronauts land and “space debris” fall. The article uses ethnographic descriptions from museums located in different regions and settlements of the country, including cities that position themselves as “space havens”. The representation of space in museums demonstrates, on the one hand, the connection of collective memory with the Soviet legacy, the heroism of the ideological format, and the nostalgia for an imaginary space future; on the other hand, the gradual displacement/oblivion of this gift of modernity and the transfer of space into the aspect of frontier presence.