Yurt Jurt

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with environmental engineer and Indigenous rights activist Viliuia Choinova about decolonisation, extractivism, and the realities of living within and resisting the Russian state. Viliuia speaks about land not as an abstract concept, but as a material and political space—one shaped by resource extraction, environmental destruction, and unequal power relations.The conversation confronts difficult questions: What does it mean to call Russia a federation when many of its regions lack real autonomy? How are Indigenous communities disproportionately affected by extractivism and militarisation? Viliuia also reflects on the increasing pressures faced by activists, the targeting of Indigenous populations in mobilization efforts, and the challenges of bringing these issues to international platforms, including UN spaces. At the same time, she offers a powerful vision of decolonisation as both resistance and possibility, a chance to reclaim language, culture, and political futures beyond imperial structures.This episode is a bold and urgent conversation about empire, identity, and the struggle for self-determination in the 21st century.

In this episode of the Yurt Jurt Podcast, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with Seseg Jigjitova, a Buryat activist, illustrator, and writer based in Berlin, about decolonial thought, memory, and the power of storytelling.Seseg reflects on how her personal journey into decolonial activism began within her own family. Growing up in Kazakhstan, her father made a deliberate effort to preserve the Buryat language and traditions at home, a quiet form of resistance that later shaped her political and artistic work. Through illustration and visual storytelling, Seseg documents experiences of racism faced by Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities from North Asia and Russia.The conversation also explores her book Deep Freeze. This visual and autobiographical project traces three interconnected layers: unanswered questions from the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the personal and political awakening. The title reflects how historical trauma, colonial violence, and suppressed questions remained “frozen” for decades before surfacing.Diana and Seseg discuss broader themes, including Soviet nostalgia, the romanticization of the USSR in Western intellectual circles, generational colonial trauma, and the challenges Indigenous communities face in building solidarity. They also reflect on the psychological impact of colonialism, the need for culturally aware therapy, and how art can become a powerful tool for documenting lived experience and reclaiming history.Tune in for a thoughtful conversation on decolonization, memory, identity, and the role of art in telling stories that were long kept silent.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with Dinara Rasuleva - a Tatar poetess, writer, artist, and musician whose work sits at the crossroads of decolonial writing, experimental performance art, and multilingual expression.Until 2022, Dinara wrote exclusively in Russian. That shift became a turning point: she began to work consciously across languages, questioning the imperial connotations embedded in dominant literary forms and searching for new ways to write that feel ethically and politically grounded. Her recent Lostlingual project Travmagochi marks this transition - a work shaped by rupture, memory, and linguistic choice.Together, Diana and Dinara reflect on what it means to praise and preserve native languages in contexts shaped by empire and erasure. They discuss the emotional and political weight of returning to a mother tongue, the challenges of passing native languages on to future generations, and the freedom and responsibility of writing in Russian, Tatar, English, and German.This conversation is about language as inheritance, resistance, and creative experimentation - and about choosing to write in ways that refuse silence, hierarchy, and linguistic loss.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with Denis Esakov, a linguist and activist from Kyrgyzstan and a member of De_colonialanguage, a Berlin-based initiative working at the intersection of language, power, and decolonial practice.Denis reflects on how colonial and imperial histories continue to shape everyday speech, naming practices, and ideas of “normative” language in post-imperial contexts. The conversation explores De:coloniaLanguage as both an initiative and a method, one that questions whose voices are legitimized, whose are erased, and how language can be reclaimed as a tool of agency rather than control.The episode also touches on the Open Space Museum, where language, memory, and public knowledge intersect through open, participatory formats that challenge traditional institutional authority. Together, Diana and Denis discuss how museums, archives, and linguistic practices can become sites of resistance, care, and re-imagining futures beyond colonial frames. This episode invites listeners to think of language not as neutral, but as something we actively choose, contest, and transform.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen sits down with Ilyuza Mukhamediyarova, a Bashkort activist whose work centers on Indigenous rights, political repression, and cultural survival in today’s Russia. Together, they unpack the Baymak protests in Bashkortostan and what they reveal about the long-standing tensions between Indigenous communities and the Russian state. Ilyuza reflects on the deep disconnect between how Russians use the term “Russian” as a default national identity and how non-Russian ethnic groups within the federation experience it as an erasure. They discuss why so many Indigenous peoples refuse the label “Russian,” and how this linguistic collapse has contributed to decades of misunderstanding, assimilation, and political marginalization.The conversation also turns to the growing rift between Russian liberal opposition groups and the national republics, exploring why calls for democracy often fail to acknowledge Indigenous autonomy, colonial violence, or the right to self-determination. Finally, Diana and Ilyuza confront a difficult question for all communities facing repression: Do we have to sacrifice one generation to secure freedom for the next?

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen sits down with historian and writer Botakoz Kassymbekova to unpack the concept of imperial innocence and explore themes from her upcoming book. Together, they reflect on how the Soviet Union was an undignified experience at every level, one that stripped people of agency and disguised domination as “friendship among nations.”Botakoz shares how this so-called friendship served as a colonial tool, reinforcing racial hierarchies, inequality, and systemic injustice across the Soviet space. The conversation also turns toward the RUTA Association and its annual Conference on Decoloniality in Ukraine, where scholars and activists work to rethink the Soviet experience beyond imperial narratives.With urgency and empathy, Botakoz calls for solidarity among former Soviet nations, urging us to tell our shared stories through personal memories, family histories, and everyday acts of resistance.Tune in for a powerful discussion on memory, decolonization, and the power of storytelling to reclaim dignity.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, Aidai Aidarova speaks with Terrell J. Starr, journalist, podcaster, and political commentator. Aidai and Terrell discuss how conversations about colonialism and decolonization often remain trapped within African or Western frameworks, overlooking former Soviet and Central Asian experiences. Together, they explore how these global narratives are shifting and what it means to live, write, and think decolonially beyond borders and geography.Terrell shares how living in Ukraine reshaped his understanding of race, identity, and decoloniality. He reflects on his realization that in the U.S., “Caucasian” is synonymous with “white,” while in reality, the peoples of the Caucasus are the true Caucasians - a revelation that challenged his perception of race and belonging.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with Aizada Arystanbek, a gender researcher whose work explores the intersection of patriarchy, policy, and nationalism in Kazakhstan. Aizada discusses how state media and digital cultures construct and enforce a hegemonic image of the “ideal Kazakh woman” - one defined by modesty, motherhood, and national purity. Together, Diana and Aizada unpack how these narratives not only sustain moral policing and gendered violence but also reinforce nationalist and colonial legacies under the guise of tradition and nation-building. This conversation reflects on how gender becomes a site of control, resistance, and identity in postcolonial Central Asia, and what it means to challenge these narratives in everyday life.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen sits down with Kamila Narysheva, artist and curator from Almaty. Together, they explore Kamila’s personal and academic journey from studying in Russia to researching the imperial legacies embedded in Kazakhstan’s history and historiography.Kamila shares how her work, which challenged dominant imperial narratives, was often met with bias and even poor grades from professors unable to evaluate her research objectively. The conversation moves beyond academia to the personal - what it means to be a Central Asian woman navigating postcolonial identity, how artificial borders created by empire continue to shape belonging, and why people in the region often identify more with cities and places than with national constructs.Diana and Kamila also reflect on how lived experience remains undervalued in academic discourse, especially when confronting uncomfortable truths such as the colonial nature of the USSR. The episode is a candid reflection on memory, identity, and the ongoing struggle to reclaim historical narratives in and about Central Asia.

In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen sits down with Intizor Otaniyozova, a multidisciplinary artist based in Central Asia, whose work moves between performance, film, and cultural memory. Together, they unpack the layered questions of identity and belonging: What does it mean to be stateless? What does it mean to be Uighur - both globally and within the Central Asian context?Intizor reflects on her creative journey, from producing a documentary about Uyghur experiences in Central Asia to the influence of Beyoncé on her path. Through her art and storytelling, she opens up a dialogue on how Uyghur identity is lived, remembered, and reimagined today.

What does it really mean to be “post-Soviet”? And is it time to leave that label behind?In this episode of Yurt Jurt, host Diana Kudaibergen speaks with Madina Tlostanova - decolonial thinker, writer, and Professor of Postcolonial Feminisms at Linköping University. Tlostanova is the author of What Does It Mean to Be Post-Soviet? and Postcolonialism and Postsocialism in Fiction and Art, and one of the leading voices on decolonial thought in Eurasia.They explore how Central Asian identities are still framed through the “post-Soviet” lens, the role of the nation-state in shaping self-understanding, and how indigenous sustainable ways of living resist extractive state logics. The conversation also asks why academia so often reproduces colonial structures - and why art, rather than universities, has become a space for powerful decolonial expression.

In this episode, Diana sits down with Dr. Selbi Durdiyeva, a scholar originally from Turkmenistan who identifies as Central Asian. Selbi brings her unique perspective and expertise to discuss her academic work on reimagining the role of civil society in transitional justice processes, particularly in the context of Soviet repressions in Russia.Selbi delves into the complexities of decolonial thought and its relevance to Central Asia, offering thought-provoking insights into the region's history and future. She also shares a carefully curated list of essential books on decoloniality, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring decolonial ideas and their impact on Central Asia. The list will also be published on our Instagram page. Tune in to expand your understanding of transitional justice, civil society, and the rich intellectual traditions shaping decolonial discourse in the region!

In this first episode, we introduce ourselves and the mission behind the Yurt Jurt. We’re here to explore why the term "post-Soviet" doesn’t define us, why the USSR was a colonizer, and how our histories were rewritten. Join us as we dive into these foundational questions and set the stage for deeper conversations on decoloniality in Central Asia and beyond.#yurtjurt #yurtjurtpodcast