According to a statement from the early 19th century, “for a Russian, the Seven Years' War was of special interest”, but its controversial outcome was obscured by resounding triumphs of the Russian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. Thus the “first world war” (W. Churchill), which had been fought on three continents, remained largely unknown in Russia, and even though the scope of historical sources covering this part of the Empress Elizabeth’s reign expanded significantly in the recent years, much is still left to be discovered in the archives.
The present conference shall bring together researchers, who are willing to explore this topic, as well as provide a general estimate of the current state of knowledge and identify new approaches in this area of studies. Methodological priorities will include a direct comparison between Russian archival materials and the West European / global ones, and an analysis of the approaches, which have been extensively developed in the global historiography of the Seven Years’ War, in the Early Modern military history, and in the broader field of the "new military history" in general.
Nevertheless, participants are not limited in their choice of topics, and may propose both individual presentations and panels, which can include topics linking the history of the Seven Years’ War to a broader context of the Russian history in the middle of the 18th century; presentation of research on non-Russian aspects of the Seven Years’ War, that intersect with and shed new light on Russian history, is also welcome.

Organization: The German Historical Institute in Moscow will reimburse accommodation and travel expenses of the conference participants and provide necessary visa support for non-Russian citizens.

Working languages: Russian and English.

Proposals: 300 words, please send to denis.sdvizkov@dhi-moskau.org
Proposal submission deadline: December 29, 2019
Please submit previously unpublished material only.

After receiving an official acceptance letter the participants will be required to provide the full texts of their presentations by May 1, 2020.

Selected and peer-reviewed texts of the conference papers are planned to be published. There is also a possibility of establishing a research project based on the conference proceedings and in a way to be discussed at the conference.