An Introduction to the Imagined Interregnum

Turbulent years of the Great War, revolutions of 1917 and the civil war redrew not only the Russian borders, but reshaped also its academic life. It isolated Russian scholarly societies from the international academic debate and during the first post-revolutionary years, the academic contacts with the Western colleagues were broken or were arranged in sporadic ways only. The isolation was intensified by the rise of Bolshevik rule and by the commercial blockade of Western countries. 

After these events, many of the scholars who left Russia were working for the future Russia on different arenas. At the same time, the scholars in the Soviet Russia were eager to establish contacts with western academic communities and authorities. The new situation generated new kind of collaboration, academic and political. A lively network of Russian scholars were working on an multinational base for different political and academic goals. This period of political turmoil and academic stagnation can be considered also as Imagined Interregnum, as a period of when one started to precede and prepare something more sustainable when it comes to the re-organisation of the Russian state, regardless of the ruling powers. 

Researchers 

Having this as a common basis, each  member of the project Imagined Interregnum has his/her case. The researchers of the are Dr. Kirsti Ekonen (University of Helsinki), MA Jussi-Pekka Hakkarainen (University of Turku), MA Janina Kruglikova (University of Turku) and professor Dr. Evgeni Petrov (St. Petersburg State University). For viewing the individual focuss areas and interests, click the name of researcher. Together the results of the project will widen the understanding of the academic “Russian diaspora”: the case studies of the project members will show the connections of academic and political activity, they will describe the multipolar context of the activity. 

Colloquium at the Slavonic Library

The research project will organize a two-day academic colloquium in Helsinki in August 2013 in collaboration with the Society of Finnish Slavists and the Slavonic Library at the National Library of Finland. The colloquium is funded by the Niilo Helander Foundation. In order to find out more information on this event, please, view the Call for Papers and Preliminary Programme.

Picture: Slavonic Library at the National Library of Czech Republic