Conveners:
- German Historical Institute Moscow
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Far-Eastern Branch
- Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich (Chair of Russian/ Asian Studies)
- Indiana University
- International Laboratory ‘Russia’s Regions in Historical Perspective’, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Date: 28-31 March 2021 Online (Zoom)
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?