Sacred necropolitics

Abstract

In this meditation, Anya Bernstein and Alexei Yurchak discuss Yurchak’s essay, “The canon and the mushroom: Lenin, sacredness, and Soviet collapse,” which is published in the current issue. They elaborate on some points in the essay that are central for the understanding of the figure of “Lenin” and its role in Soviet history, take them in new directions, and link them to other topics that are relevant to anthropology. The themes discussed include sacredness and blasphemy; death, resurrection, and immortality; language, intentionality, and responsibility; voice, ventriloquism, and truth; and more.