The nothingness myth

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes the concept of “nothingness” as a part of human- resource relations in pre- and post-industrial landscapes. It addresses nothingness as a part of mythological narratives in Kvartsitnyi settlement in northwestern Russia. Kvartsitnyi was built in the 1970s near the new quartzitic sandstone quarry and was initially viewed as a modern settlement attracting workers from all around the country. However, in the early 2000s, the quarry went bankrupt and closed. The pre-industrial landscape of Kvartsitnyi is often viewed in the interviews as empty, and the quarry's closure recreated this symbolic “nothingness.” These narratives resemble mythological creation stories when a new world appears from nothing but is destroyed as a result of human mistakes. The article discusses the cosmogonic myth of Kvartsitnyi within the larger context of Soviet and post-Soviet myth-making.