The growing sector of heritage industry and creative uses of the past in Russia illustrate that, besides the undeniable existence of restorative nostalgia, there are other, more progressive forms of nostalgia that address social change and the protection of heritage sites. To analyse these forms of nostalgia, I visited the Third Cultural Forum of the Regions of Russia, which opened on September 22, 2017, at the Public Chamber of Russian Federation in Moscow, and analysed discussions that took place. I have chosen to focus on the panels Sviaz’ Pokoleniy (The Link between the Generations) and Delovoy Klub Nasledie i Ekonomika (Business Club Heritage and Economics), as they best represent distinct attitudes towards past and the use of nostalgic sentiments as an impetus for change, and conducted discourse analysis of the discussions that took place at these panels.

This study analyses potential vulnerabilities conditioned by the pressure of an ethics of care placed on a researcher to stay empathetic with the subjects of study in action research with subcultures consisting of male-dominated groups, including how 24/7 access to social media and digital technologies augments possibilities for abuse. The author, and the subject of this chapter, is a female researcher who has conducted action research in a community of Russian hip-hop activists for a period of two years, during which she has played the double role of both project manager and researcher. The starting point of this project was to establish a horizontal organisational structure that would allow greater agency on the part of community members to influence both cultural actions and research processes. Applying auto-ethnography, the author addresses the following research questions: What are the potential implications of the use of a feminist ethics of care by a female researcher in relation to a male-dominated community when attempting to equalise power dynamics between the university and community? What kinds of problems might arise when the subjects of research overstep their agency to influence decision-making processes? How can media channels for internal communication be used (and abused) and what are the ethical implications for the researcher and the subjects of the research?

Photographers use Instagram to display and share images of ruined cultural landmarks with the broader public. In Russia, where thousands of historical villas and churches are found in a state of decay and are in danger of complete destruction, creating awareness about the state of such cultural heritage has important political and societal implications. In the process of documenting the decay of cultural landmarks, the photographers, I argue, come out as civic activists who inform the public about the state of affairs in the field of heritage protection as well as engage in the discussion about the role of the state, the church and the citizens in this practice. By drawing on a case study of three Instagram accounts @deadokey, @krokhino and @samasyava and using qualitative visual content analysis of Instagram imagery, I frame, explore and interpret visual posts made in order to raise awareness about decaying cultural landmarks.