The Soviet and Post-Soviet Anthrobscenes: Speculations from Cheburashka to Khokhulya

Keywords: New Media, Parrika, Anthropocene, Animal Studies, Soviet State (USSR)

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate the representation of and presence of non-human animals through the framework of new media theorist Jussi Parikka’s conceptualization of the “Anthrobscene.” Additionally, an examination of Marxist-Leninist thought concerning both environmentalist policies and practices of early childhood education is essential to formulating a well-rounded understanding of the innate political nature of these anthropomorphic representations and, in turn, how the treatment of animals, both domestic and wild, are considered reflexively by the Soviet state and the current Russian Federation through both a Soviet example (Cheburashka the abstracted and unspecified mouse-cat-primate creature) and a more modern environmentalist mascot (Khokhulya the Russian desman), both of which are duly reflective of their political contexts and social imaginings. Through an analysis of historical contextualizations and the modern mascot representation of the animal as a means of either social or philosophical change as well as practical environmentalist aims under the new capitalistic system post-1990s, Cheburashka and Khokhulya respectively serve to articulate and exemplify a comparison between the ideological functions of both economic systems within the broader field of animal and early childhood media studies.

Author Biography

Majorca “Jorie” Bateman-Coe is a recent graduate of Columbia University’s Film and Media Studies MA program and an incoming Ph.D. student in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature (CSCL) at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Her primary cultures of exploration include Eastern European and East Asian cinemas, and she is interested in exploring their intersections through a dialectical materialist perspective. She also enjoys examining the influence of technology, social media, and video games (simulated realities) on industrialization and material output, specifically in factory settings. Her Master’s thesis examined the spatial memory of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City (1898-1994) in conversation with other similarly unique or striking urban environments, such as: Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian Federation; Tent City in Tompkins Square Park, NYC; Xiong’an New Area, The People’s Republic of China; and Sa’dah, Yemen.

In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, spending time with her orange cat, going to the movies, and singing in Yasna Voices, a women's Bulgarian folk choir based in New York City.