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“Zuleikha, Take off your Veil!”: Representing Muslim Women in The Soviet and Post-Soviet Space

Bainazar, Maryam
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4119-1133
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1648677011689733

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures.
This paper explores the collective memory of Guzel’ Yakhina in her novel Zuleikha opens her eyes (2015). In 2020, the novel was transformed into a television series where it reached an even larger audience. The representation of Tatar Muslim culture in this work of contemporary Russian literature and television will be analyzed. Yakhina negotiates between historical memories and old stereotypes as she frames Zuleikha’s story of acceptance into her Siberian labor camp and Soviet society. Although the Soviet Union does not exist as a physical space anymore, in recent years, Russia has developed historical memory projects that focus on the period of Stalinism (1927-1953) as a source of national pride. The positive depiction of exile seen in both the novel and television series is problematic because it promotes deculturalization and continues to erase the Muslim identity in Russia. First, analyzing the representation of a Tatar Muslim woman on television revealed a trope of unveiling held onto by the Russian contemporary audience. They linked Zuleikha to the negative stereotype of Muslim women as victims of their cultural and religious identity. The television audience saw the repeated motif “Zuleikha opens her eyes” as a call to take off Zuleikha’s veil. Secondly, the scene in the tv show where the Hagia Sophia dome is removed and replaced with the new Stalinist-style dome monument reveals an erasure of ethnic and religious identity. Finally, Zuleikha’s connection to her past ethnicity and religion is severed when the identity of Zuleikha’s son, Yusuf is transformed. His name is changed to the Russian name: Iosif Ignatov. Using the historical context of the 1930s as a teleport, contemporary media establishes Russian nationalism as the only pathway to belonging for minorities in post-Soviet Russia. Ultimately, in both the television series and novel, one’s Tatar Muslim identity is declared obsolete and must be removed. Such memories contribute to the growing influence of Russian nationalism and the development of a pan-Russian ideology.
Yana Hashamova (Committee Member)
Angela Brintlinger (Advisor)
60 p.
Slavic Literature; Slavic Studies
Representation, Imagined Community, Nationalism, Soviet and post-Soviet Memory, Tatar, Muslim Women

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bainazar, M. (2022). “Zuleikha, Take off your Veil!”: Representing Muslim Women in The Soviet and Post-Soviet Space [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1648677011689733

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bainazar, Maryam. “Zuleikha, Take off your Veil!”: Representing Muslim Women in The Soviet and Post-Soviet Space. 2022. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1648677011689733.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bainazar, Maryam. "“Zuleikha, Take off your Veil!”: Representing Muslim Women in The Soviet and Post-Soviet Space." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1648677011689733

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1648677011689733
342
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.