CFP: Contemporary and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Russian and Soviet Modernity

 CFP: Contemporary and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Russian and Soviet Modernity

The Department of East European History at Humboldt University (Berlin) and the Cummings Center for Russian and East European Studies at Tel Aviv University are pleased to invite you to a series of joint online workshops.

Contemporary and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Russian and Soviet Modernity

During the past century and a half, modern Russia has experienced profound upheavals and transitions, including the Great War, two revolutions, World War II, and the collapse of the communist bloc. While twentieth century scholarship focused mainly on the dividing lines between Soviet and Russian history, many researchers have since emphasised the continuities rather than the changes in the various transition points, both at the beginning and at the end of the communist regime. Recent studies suggest, however, that different practices and undercurrents have continued across the divides and should be studied as ongoing phenomena, influenced but not cut off by the political events. Moreover, after the opening of the Soviet archives in 1990s, it became clear that the Soviet period too, should not be regarded as a monolithic timeframe. Rather, it requires close attention to the internal changes and alterations that unfolded over the seventy-five years of the Soviet regime.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has profoundly reshaped many perspectives and narratives while simultaneously restricting access to archival sources. The limits the war has imposed on unmediated research of the field include the difficulties foreign researchers experience in accessing Russian and Ukrainian archives along with forced emigration of many scholars. Taken together, these factors necessitate a rethinking of how Russian and Soviet modernity is studied, calling for an approach that promotes scholarly collaboration, deepens engagement with independent post-socialist states, and addresses the persistent challenge of restricted access to original sources.

The joint Humboldt-TAU workshop draws on the unique advantage that Germany and Israel possess in advancing and fostering the field of East European studies. Significant immigration waves from the former Soviet Union have resulted in the formation of large Russian and Ukrainian speaking diasporas in both Israel and Germany, whose linguistic, cultural, and academic resources have shaped local intellectual and cultural landscapes. The workshop aims to foster a multidisciplinary group offering diverse methodological approaches to Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet history. It brings together senior and junior scholars from both institutions and remains open to researchers from other universities engaged in Russian and East European studies. It holds monthly online meetings throughout the academic year with the intent of holding an in-person annual workshop at the end of the academic year. These meetings serve as a platform for discussing works in progress and exploring novel insights and methodological approaches to the issues at hand.

Our research interests encompass diverse aspects of Russian and Soviet modernity, with particular openness to a broad range of topics. We especially welcome interdisciplinary approaches and the application of innovative methods drawn from across the disciplines.

Following a successful launch during the Spring Semester of 2024-2025, we are pleased to open our schedule for research presentations on topics aligned with the interests of the group. We welcome contributions from colleagues at any stage of their careers, including PhD candidates, early-career scholars, and tenured faculty. Presenters are asked to submit a text for pre-circulation prior to the session. All meetings will take place via Zoom and will begin in December 2025.

To propose a presentation, please submit a title, a 300-word abstract, and a short bio to one of the following e-mails: IUAP@tauex.tau.ac.il OR oksana.nagornaia@hu-berlin.de

To join the group as an attendee, please fill out the following form:

https://forms.gle/LfjhnVbXMVMjasy68

Submission deadline is November 15, 2025.

We look forward to meeting you online!

The Organising Committee:

Oksana Nagornaia, HU

Irina Makhalova, HU

Vera Kaplan, TAU

Dina Moyal, TAU