In Friedrich Gorenstein’s (1932-2002) prose, the border topography of Soviet republics exposes internal conflicts and tensions, linked to the catastrophic history of the 20th century — the Holodomor, the Holocaust, and post-war pogroms. In his play Berdichev, the city is depicted as the homeland of Soviet Jewry and a microcosm of the Jewish world. Gorenstein’s work illustrates the vanishing Jewish culture under totalitarian pressures, amidst interactions and tensions with neighbouring Ukrainian and Russian cultures. The atmosphere of Berdichev is painted with poignant images of death and scandal. Dr Alena Pantiukhina (TU Dresden) explores the topography in Berdichev play in connection with Jewish identity and memory, as well as their interweaving with Soviet ideology and the presence of the Soviet state. This topography unfolds across multiple layers: from the intimate setting of the communal apartment, with its furnishings and material objects, to the broader city landscape of boulevards and remnants of baroque architecture, stretching out to the peripheries with slums, cemeteries, and haunting traces of the Holocaust. Additionally, Moscow, where the play’s protagonist relocates, symbolizes the Soviet state and its imperial core, contrasting sharply with provincial Berdichev, described as a bastion of Soviet Jewry. The lecture is part of the Slavic Colloquium at the University of Regensburg and will be held in English. Dr Alena Pantiukhina is currently working on the research project „Judaism, Ukraine and Russia: Friedrich Gorenstein’s Border Narratives,“ which examines the intersections of Jewish, Russian and Ukrainian culture in Gorenstein’s work. Her research interests include the construction of historical narratives in literature, Russian-Jewish literature, and postcolonial paradigms in Soviet culture.