The island monastery of Valaam in Finnish homeland tourism: Constructing a “Thirdspace” in the Russian borderlands

Fennia: International Journal of Geography

卷:191

Maja Mikula¹ 

[1] University of Technology Sydney;

关键词: Homeland tourism;    Valaam;    Karelia;    Finland;    Russia;    borderlands;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The Orthodox island monastery of Valaam in RussianKarelia is today a popular destination for Finnish tourists visitingRussia’s western borderlands. Many of these tourists are descendants of the Karelians who had evacuated the area following World War II. Themonastery’s institutionally sanctioned genealogies construct it as thecivilizing force, which had brought Christian enlightenment to the localheathen population. This discursive template is played out in the way the place is presented to visitors, with eachhighlight telling a carefully constructed story that promotes themonastery’s significance for the Russian religious and nationalidentity. Yet, drawing on lived experience, as well as on popular culture, family lore and meanings from collective memory, theFinnish visitors break the monolithic official discourse and produce acomplex “thirdspace” in their own measure. This paper is based onparticipant observation and semi-structured interviews conducted during a homeland visit to Ladogan Karelia in June 2010.

【 授权许可】

Unknown