01

History

• The historical development of Balkan–Russian relations
• Russia’s Balkan policies (Tsarist, Soviet, and Russian Federation periods)
• The Ottoman State, the Balkans, and Russia
• The impact of the Russo-Turkish wars on the Balkans
• Pan-Slavism and the Balkans
• The Eastern Question and Russia
• Balkan nationalisms and Russia
• Russia’s role in Balkan independence movements
• The 1877–1878 Ottoman-Russian War and the Balkans
• The Congress of Berlin and the Balkans
• The Balkan Wars and Russia
• Balkan–Russian relations before and during the First World War
• The Second World War and the Balkans
• Balkan–Russian relations during the Cold War
• The Soviet Union and the Balkan countries; the impact of its dissolution on the Balkans
• The Russian Federation and the Balkans
• Diplomatic, military, political, social, economic, cultural, religious, educational, and press history
• Migrations, population movements, and exchanges; minorities and ethnic structure
• Urban history and local history studies
• Balkan–Russian relations in the light of archival documents
• The Balkans and Russia in travelogues, memoirs, and diplomatic reports
• Historiography and Balkan–Russian relations

02

Cultural and Civilizational History

• Cultural interaction between the Balkans and Russia
• The Orthodox world and Balkan–Russian relations
• The historical development of religious institutions
• Shared cultural heritage
• The historical development of linguistic, alphabetic, and literary relations
• Balkan–Russian interaction in architecture and works of art
• Cultural diplomacy and its historical course

03

International Relations (Historical Perspective)

• The historical background of Balkan–Russian relations
• The historical geopolitics of the Black Sea
• Great-power rivalry in the Balkans and Russia
• Balance-of-power politics in the 19th and 20th centuries
• The internationalization of Balkan questions
• Balkan–Russian diplomatic relations throughout history

04

Archives, Sources, and Historical Research

• Balkan history in Russian archives
• Documents relating to Russia in Balkan archives
• Balkan–Russian relations in Ottoman archives
• Introductions of new documents and sources
• Digital archives in historical research
• New methods and approaches in Balkan history research

05

Historical Processes Reflected in the Present

• The impact of historical heritage on present-day Balkan–Russian relations
• Historical memory and collective remembrance
• Shared perception of history in identity formation
• The influence of history on foreign policy
• History-based interdisciplinary studies on the Balkans and Russia