Throughout its history the Russian Far East has had many faces. It was a springboard to the Pacific for the Tsarist empire, a global hub to-be, a magnet for migrants and a sealed-off, militarized borderland. This conference seeks to explore the region’s connection in the Asia-Pacific region, its functions and the diverse identities of its inhabitants and neighbours. To what extent – and from when on – has it been possible to speak of a Russian Far Eastern identity and/or society? What have been its defining traits and sub-forms? To what extent has it been influenced by settlers of various nationalities and to what extent by the regions´ various Pacific neighbour states – through trade, investment, labour migration, scientific and environmental cooperation, transfer of goods and ideas? How have regional identities been shaped by developments in the political centres in St. Petersburg and Moscow?
We are particularly interested in
- Far Eastern biographies between regionalism and internationalism
- region-centre relations and perspectives
- migration as well as the transfer of goods, ideas, knowledge and (possibly) institutions between the Russian Far East and neighbouring countries as far as they have influenced Far Eastern identities and/or co-shaped the regional society
- cooperation and exchange with other Asia-Pacific countries concerning science and the environment which have had an influence in this regard.
Early career scholars are encouraged to apply.
The conference will be held at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the “Russia´s North Pacific” network of the German Historical Institute Moscow and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich as well as with the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and Indiana University. Travel and accommodation will be taken charge of by the organizers. Selected contributions are to be published in the framework of a volume in the book series “Russia and the Asia-Pacific”.
Participants will be asked to pre-circulate their paper (3.000 words) one month before the conference.
Applications should include a short CV and an abstract (300 words max.). They should be sent to Benjamin Beuerle (Benjamin.Beuerle@dhi-moskau.org) by 9 March 2020.