Authors

Discussion

This roundtable continues the conversations about developments in Russophone studies which were recently discussed in the latest issue of Ab Imperio (2/2025, https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/55581 ). The roundtable brings together scholars whose expertise ranges across literature, cultural studies, geography and political science to reflect on the current state and future directions of Russophone Studies. Over the last decade, the field has gained significant momentum as a way of rethinking Russian and post-Soviet cultural production beyond national and linguistic boundaries.

The roundtable participants will offer perspectives grounded in their own diverse research trajectories. They range from studies of exile, migration, and multilingual literary practices, to work on Russian engagements with climate science and the Anthropocene, to analyses of Ukrainian and Russophone hybrid identities, and to research on modernist and avant-garde poetics as well as contemporary Russophone literatures of diversity. Collectively, they will consider how Russophone studies can address pressing intellectual and institutional challenges, including the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the need to decolonise and diversify Russian studies, and the imperative to situate Russophone culture within global contexts.

Discussion will also address practical questions: What does Russophone Studies contribute to the wider field of Slavic studies? How can it foster meaningful collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries? And how might it support the training of the next generation of scholars? The roundtable aims to open a dialogue within the BASEES community about collaborative directions and shared agendas in developing Russophone studies.