‘Corpus sovieticus’: collective body memory and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Latvia

This article uses the phenomenological concept of collective body memory (CBM) to examine the pre-reflective motivations of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) in Latvia. CBM, a relatively novel idea in the social sciences, refers to shared, implicit, and pre-reflective embodied experiences that shape collective behaviors and attitudes. Using phenomenologically grounded qualitative research (PGQR) methodology, we show that reflective reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy identified in existing research are grounded in pre-reflective, embodied dispositions shaped by shared historical experience. We introduce the term Corpus sovieticus to describe how sedimented memories of Soviet-era distrust, compliance, and public–private code-switching resurface in pandemic contexts and shape COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Latvia. Our findings highlight that VH in Latvia is not only cognitive but also embedded in embodied collective memory. This perspective underscores the need for public health strategies that are responsive to embodied, collective, and culture-specific experiences, both in Latvia and beyond.