In 1712, Tsar Peter of Russia made an audacious decision. He moved his court from the ages-long capital of Moscow to a newly established townlet in a remote and poorly populated area on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Formally, this territory even remained under Swedish rule until the end of the Great Northern War in 1725. The man had a plan, though. Ultimately, the new city of St. Petersburg concentrated an enormous amount of political power and cultural capital in an empire that covered most of Northern Eurasia and even stretched into North America. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the city lost its imperial status and suffered extreme devastation during the Russian Civil War, the Second World War, and the post-Soviet transition of the 1990s. Over the course of the 20th century, however, it also gained special status as an alternative/counter-culture city in comparison to Moscow and remains an important regional economic and cultural center today.

The Summer School explores this turbulent and often difficult history with a special focus on the political and cultural space of the city. Often in the shadow of other imperial capitals such as London or Vienna, St. Petersburg in fact offers an interesting vantage point from which to examine the entanglements of global, imperial, and regional histories; the ambiguities and inequalities of modernization; and the emergence of the modern urban self. It also examines and puts to the test many widely held Western assumptions about the origins and bifurcations of modernity, the nature of social change, and the role of expert knowledge. Finally, the Summer School also engages with the issue of historical memory and the legacies of the past in a contemporary city.

The Summer School is designed for students in the humanities and social sciences. Knowledge of Russian is not required as all the lectures, seminars and excursions will be conducted in English. Basic knowledge of the history of the country and contemporary Russia are desirable, but not essential. The curriculum will include intensive Russian language courses for foreign students, faculty presentations and workshops (partially held in the urban space of St. Petersburg), as well as a special cultural and excursion program in and around the city. Over the course of three weeks, the students will work in small groups on a mini project related to the practices of commemoration in the urban space of contemporary St. Petersburg and present their results at the end of the course. The students will also have an opportunity to independently learn about the contemporary political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the city on-site, and the organizers will provide the necessary contacts. The summer school welcomes students from all foreign and Russian universities.

HSE is one of Russia’s elite academic institutions. Its head office is in Moscow and it has campuses in Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Perm. Founded in 1992 by academic economists from among colleagues of the then minister of economics Yegor Gaidar, it rapidly became one of the leading universities in social sciences and humanities in Russia. It is known for its liberal character, openness and emphasis on research.

The Summer School 2022 is organized by the Department of History (HSE St.Petersburg) in cooperation with the Department of the History of Eastern Europe (Georg-August University of Göttingen), HSE's partner in the new launched double diploma MA program on Central European History, and is generously supported by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

Students who wish to attend the summer school should 1. fill in the registration form (https://spb.hse.ru/impower/expresspolls/poll/200281596.html), and 2. send a motivation letter to Professor Pavel Vasilyev (pvasilev@hse.ru). The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will provide scholarships for participants from German universities. Students from German universities are eligible to apply for DAAD scholarship that will cover a relevant part of the participation in the Summer School. Please note: this is a separate application (3.)! Further information is available on the programme website Go East, German Academic Exchange Service (http://goeast.daad.de/)

Requirements: Knowledge of Russian is not essential as all the lectures, seminars and excursions will be conducted in English. Basic knowledge of the history of the country and of contemporary Russia are desirable, but not essential.