Background article "Wherever the Russian settles in Asia, the country immediately becomes Russian." (Dostoevsky) The Russian Empire's conquest of Central Asia began with the capture of the city of Tashkent in 1865. Numerous reasons have been put forward for the gradual but continual expansion that followed, but the term “civilizing mission” stands out in particular. What was the intention behind this conquest in the second half of the 19th century and how did it relate to colonization efforts?
Background article A Russian aristocratic childhood set out in three columns A diary discovered in the archives gives a detailed insight into aristocratic parenting practices in 19th century Russia and shows that helicopter parenting is not just a modern phenomenon.
Biography Artist and Art Figure Monika Hunnius is generally known as a Baltic German author. She, however, saw herself as a musician – and was part of a network of musicians that extended all over Europe, to which Julius Stockhausen, Johannes Brahms, and Clara Schumann belonged as well.
Cultural office Cultural Office for Russian Germans Who are the Russian Germans? What were their experiences in the Soviet Union? How has their integration in Germany taken shape in the past and how is it continuing to evolve today? Russian-German repatriates are one of the largest migrant groups in Germany. Nevertheless, the majority of the...
Background article Decolonization in the Russian Federation In spring 2023 the Өmә exhibition took place in Kreuzberg, Berlin and received a great deal of media attention. The exhibition not only exposed the reproducibility of Russian imperialism, describing the war in Ukraine as colonial, but also made political demands regarding territorial independence.
Background article Flirting on the ice By the 19th century, ice skating had developed into a fashionable pastime for the upper classes. The skating rink became an important public space, where social hierarchies, moral values and notions of gender manifested themselves. In the Baltic states, too, skating was an integral part of the lives of the German population, as numerous memoirs attest. But why did it play such an important role for people during their years of childhood and coming-of-age to the extent that it would later feature so prominently in their memoirs?
Forgotten civilization In 2012 Artjom Uffelmann undertook a photographic expedition to the historic settlement area of the Volga Germans. He recorded their architectural legacy on exposed glass plates, which are now on display in an exhibition of the Cultural Office for Russian Germans.
Background article How did a German Emigrant find his Way in Eastern Europe at the Beginning of the 19th Century? How someone finds their way in a foreign country can be explored in different ways. In the case of Franz Xaver Bronner's travels from Switzerland to Kazan in 1810, and his return in 1817, a geographical approach is used to provide a fact-based foundation.
Introduction Jewish History in Eastern Europe: The 19th Century In Jewish history, the 19th century stands for a time of comprehensive change in all areas of life. Jews, who had previously seen themselves primarily as a religious group, now became supporters of various political or national movements. This gave rise to a range of new, constantly contested Jewish affiliations.
Cooking recipe Mini-Napoleons Every recipe tells a story – be it that of one’s own family, social group, region, of nation states or whole empires. A particular dish is thus always both a symbol and an expression of cultural concepts. A recipe booklet compiled by students at the University of Bamberg looks at “Culinary Forays Into Eastern Europe” (Kulinarische Streifzüge durch das östliche Europa) and brings together a series of recipes of cultural and historical interest. Below is an especially delicious sample.
Background article New Farmers for Germany’s Oldest Colony In the early 20th century, Baltic German landowners recruited German farmers from Russia. The immigration of these farmers – at that time called “German colonists” – inspired a variety of colonial discourses.
Background article On the Road to the “New Eastern Lands” During the First World War, the German Empire had far-reaching plans for expansion in Eastern Europe. The Baltic states in particular were destined to become a German settlement colony known as the “Neues Ostland” (new eastern lands). With hindsight, some of these plans appear as forerunners of National Socialist conquest policy.
Background article Ruthenia quasi est alter orbis "Rus' is almost another world" wrote the Krakow bishop Maciej around 1150. What was the basis of this differentiation? How powerful was it and how did it play out in reality? In search of answers, this article also discusses the dimensions and ambivalences of border demarcations.
Biography Samuel Fränkel The Berlin Jew Samuel Fränkel (1773-1833) settled in Warsaw in 1798 as a representative of a large bank. Within a few years and across numerous political breaks, Fränkel rose to become the most important banker in a divided Poland. In doing so, Fränkel always successfully drew on his transnational connections to Jews and non-Jews in Prussia, Austria and Russia.
Background article The History of the German-speaking Volhynians as Part of a Global Migration History From the mid-nineteenth century onward, innovations such as steam navigation and the advent of the railroad led to a sharp increase in global migration movements. The German-speaking Volhynians were part of this development, which moved between the ideal-typical poles of voluntary and forced migration and was significantly influenced by the enforcement of the ethnonational principle. This article focuses on the emigration movements of this group from the Russian governorate of Volhynia in the period between the 1860s and the First World War. The subsequent forced migrations of the German-speaking Volhynians are also briefly discussed.
The Life of the Baltic Nobility - Manor Houses in Estonia and Latvia Magnificent chandeliers, ornamental stuccoed ceilings, and salons filled with music – was aristocratic life in the Baltic really so splendid?
Introduction The National Opera in Central and Eastern Europe Today it is the passion of a select few music lovers – but in the 19th century, opera was a major social event, an expression of national consciousness, or even the musical declaration of national independence. But how did this happen? What role does the national opera play in Eastern Europe? And what makes an opera a national opera?
Background article The “Polish Economy” and the “German Pig” The end of the First World War marked a turning point in the power relationship between Poland and Germany. But did traditional images of superiority and inferiority also change? Caricatures provide an interesting lens through which to answer this question.
Didactic project Volhynia. German and Czech Immigration and Minority Experiences Germans turn forests into grain fields, schoolrooms and prayer rooms, but Czechs make them into hop gardens and taverns? What comes up when we compare Volhynia's two migrant groups and what can be learned from their past experiences, now and in the future?
![B.,v. [d. i. Max von Blaese]: Kapitalbedarf, Wirtschaftseinrichtung und Ertragsanschlag für einen in Kurland neu zu gründen Bauernhof mit 20 ha Gesamtfläche, Berlin 1916](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser_d2/public/externals/79b5dc4ecd088cbe4fbe9734e92459ea.jpg?itok=OhN3BPGp)
