Alliancing with Time: Politics of Preserving Historic Wooden Architecture in Russian Cities

Abstract

This article explores the role of time and material (wood) in the politics of preserving wooden architectural heritage in Russian cities. Based on 35 semi-structured interviews with local officials, activists, historians, restorers, and residents of wooden houses, which were conducted in Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, and Totma in 2024, the author analyzes how the temporality of material and professional practices influences the production and loss of value in historic wooden neighborhoods. The study shows that wooden houses are not static entities; they are in a constant state of transformation, shaped by material aging and expert interventions. In these processes, time acts not as a neutral background, but as an active element involved in stabilizing or decaying buildings. Through analysing interactions among actors, materials, and temporalities, the article reveals how social differences emerge within urban heritage preservation practices, such as between professional and lay perspectives and between institutional requirements and residents’ resources. These differences reflect the broader context of urban social policy, in which attention, labor, and responsibility for preserving the material past are distributed.