Authors

M Lehmann¹;  ¹ Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Finland

Discussion

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent closure of Russia for international researchers have fundamentally altered the ways historians dealing with the histories of the regions under direct Russian and Soviet rule before 1917/1991 conduct their research. This roundtable wants to look back at the last four years to discuss the problems, but also the opportunities that this shift has brought on for our entire discipline. And it wants to look ahead in contemplating with the audience on how this shift will affect our field in the years to come. We want to bring the practical experiences and epistemic challenges that different researchers – from doctoral student to professor, researchers from ‘the West’ and our colleagues from the region at large – have encountered in the last four years into dialogue. What have been the problems (and what turned out to be not as difficult as anticipated)? But also, where lie the chances and opportunities for a whole field that is in the midst of an ongoing shift on multiple levels?