The 1st international conference, “What is Soviet in Post-Soviet Space?”

The Center for Russian Studies is pleased to announce the call for the 1st international conference, “What is Soviet in Post-Soviet Space?”.

The recent developments in Russian and post-Soviet states require bringing together scholars from multiple disciplines and assessing the diverse political trajectories of post-Soviet States. Thus, through the conference, the center seeks to outline features of contemporary post-Soviet politics, culture, and structures, which are common for many FSU states and which, at least partially, derive from not-so-distant common past. Hence, the conference is dedicated to understanding the linkages of the past and present in the politics of Russia and the region. It aims to address interrelations between memories, historical discourses, and social practices within the given geographical area and reflect on the future of the region.

Scholars of politics, history, sociology, anthropology and related disciplines are invited to submit a 200-300 word abstract related to the following topics:

What was the Soviet Union from the contemporary perspective?

Post-Soviet Polity: Failures and achievements

FSU: Chances for modernization and Westernization vs path dependency

De-colonization of the FSU, imperial legacies and post-colonial traumas

Along with the abstracts, interested candidates must send a short biography to crstbilisi@gmail.com by 30th of September 2021. 

Selected candidates will be asked for thesis submissions prior to the conference.

The conference will take place via Zoom platform on 30 November - 1 December.

The conference is conducted through the project “Working Towards Sustainability of Russian Studies in Georgia”, with the help and financial support of the "Konrad Adenauer Stiftung South Caucasus”.