Former Soviet Military Bases in Poland and Latvia and the Development of Tourist Practices. Study of Selected Cases (Part 1)

Abstract

The tourist practices those have been developed at the sites of selected former Soviet military bases in Poland (Borne Sulinowo, Kłomino, Pstrąże) and in Latvia (Skrunda‑1, Karosta in Liepāja, Daugavgrīva fortress) are considered in the submitted article. The catalogue of tourist practices presented in the text includes 1) the urban exploration movement, 2) creating new paths and exploring on foot, 3) establishing and visiting museums and quasi-museums, 4) reality shows those include elements of performance, 5) organising and participating in events – was intended to be open and selective. It only includes the type of practices based on using material military heritage and selected episodes from history to create unique products of tourism, such as the individual character of a site in the context of its past. The focus on tourist practices has been developed in different contexts – Polish and Latvian – illustrates how the post-Soviet material military heritage is used in each of these countries to serve new functions. It also sheds some light on whether (or how) tourist practices contribute to the ‘rehabilitation’ of bases and other post-military facilities in the eyes of the public, reveals the process of negotiating meaning within and in reference to these sites, and indicates how tourist practices affect the materiality of the place. The research has shown that diverse tourist practices are developed in de-militarized zones in both Poland and Latvia; specific patterns of tourist experience are formed there, which do not have anything in common with mass tourism. In any given case, it is the materiality of the post-military space that determines the type of tourist practices developing there. In the context of tourist practices, the material heritage of military bases is presented as something unusual and worth seeing. At the same time, however, military heritage is contemplated and experienced in a tranquil, safe environment, which makes the emerging images and experiences ‘sterilised’, and ultimately far removed from the dangers due to which these bases have been built. Thus, they are detached from their original functions and meanings. Nevertheless, the development of diverse tourist practices indicates that although the military heritage of former Soviet bases has its meaning in the present, it is still contested, ambivalent and inspiring slightly disturbing perceptions of both the past and the future.