Dark Heritage Research Methods: A Case Study from Contemporary Russia

Abstract

This chapter aims to describe and explain methods that can be used in the course of conducting critical heritage studies research. It provides both a general overview of relevant theory and methods and an illustration of these ideas in practice, using the case study of my doctoral fieldwork, which was conducted on sites of past violence related to Soviet repression (or, broadly, "dark heritage sites") in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Russia, between 2016 and 2018. In order to answer my research questions, I used a combination of methods drawn from heritage studies as well as the wider fields of anthropology, archaeology, museology, critical geography, and others. These methods, their origins, and their uses are explained throughout the chapter.First, I provide a summary of key terms and definitions from heritage studies theory and literature in order to explain why certain M. Comer (