Repetition, anxiety and collapse. Expressions of memory decolonization in Iulian Ciocan’s work

International emancipatory movements, such as Decolonize This Place stimulated the discussions related to postcolonialism and postimperialism, including the postcommunist countries from Eastern Europe. My research follows the main argument that the most relevant instances of the intersections between these different posts are not to be revealed by different theoretical studies or in different politics of memory, but in artistic, literary cultural forms. The analyses of two of Iulian Ciocan’s novels, «And in the morning, Russians will come» (2015) and «The Clown» (2021), reveal some specific traits for the decolonization process in the post-Soviet context. Furthermore, the literary decolonization indicates the individual vulnerability alongside the lack of support from those in power, as well as the individual and collective difficulties to navigate between different dangers and temptation of power, whatever their forms.