Olga Suslova – Post-socialist urban transformations in Saint Petersburg: The advance of urban authoritarianism through urban renewal

This thesis examines post-socialist urban transformations in Saint Petersburg through the lens of the renovation of Soviet architectural heritage, which reveals the rise of urban authoritarianism. Using a mixed methodology—combining interviews, observation, mapping, statistics, network analysis, and online ethnography—it explores the political, economic, and social forces that have shaped the city since the fall of the USSR. The research highlights the gradual commercialization of the "socialist city," while challenging the dominant narratives of neoliberalization, revealing in particular the clientelist and authoritarian dynamics of urban power at work in the demolition and reconstruction projects of Soviet buildings. The Narvskaya Zastava neighborhood, a former emblematic working-class area, serves as the main case study for analyzing the resulting tensions between heritage preservation and urban transformation. Based on both fieldwork and digital research, the thesis shows that heritage is becoming a strategic space for contesting authoritarianism and forced politicization. Architectural, historical, and legal expertise is mobilized as a political resource by residents, activists, professionals, and, in some cases, representatives of the authorities, revealing the internal flaws and tensions of the authoritarian state. However, the study highlights the plurality of rationales that structure residents' reactions, whether favorable or opposed to renovation projects, and reveals post-socialist social relations that are much more complex than a simple opposition between winners and losers of economic liberalization.