From Oblivion to the Stumbling Rocks and Back: A Pragmatic Sociological Analysis of the Controversies Around Kaliningrad Cobblestones

* Статья содержит упоминание запрещенных в Российской Федерации социальных сетей. Номер был подготовлен до решения суда о запрете деятельности указанных социальных сетей. Упоминание осуществляется исключительно в научных целях и не нацелено на одобрение экстремисткой деятельности

Abstract

This article deals with the description and analysis of the controversy in 2010–2013 around the historic cobblestones in Kaliningrad when there was massive asphalting of streets, replacing German paving stones. This caused discontent and protests from citizens, leading to the emergence of the city’s first civil activist movement (“Save the cobblestones!”) to protect the city and its historical heritage. The article describes the appearance of this movement, its dynamics and the reasons for its disappearance. The French tradition of pragmatic sociology is used as a theoretical framework. The article focuses on how the controversy unfolded around the questions of whether to keep or remove the historical paving stones from the streets of the city, what resources each side used (the city administration and the activist movement), what regulatory, institutional and political restrictions were possible to narrow the possibility of criticism of the actions of the city administration. The article is based on the case study method, during which 10 interviews were collected with participants in the movements, journalists, architects, engineers, etc. Local periodicals, and posts and documents from online activists were collected and analyzed. The article shows that criticism of the actions of the authorities became possible thanks to the media, social networks, appeals to officials, but it was limited by normative documents and administrative obstacles.