16.11.2023
On November 9, the international conference “World War I in the Historical Memory of Russia and Europe: Documentary Evidence and Historical Narratives” was held at RSUH
Scholars from 23 cities of Russia, as well as experts from Serbia, Croatia and the Republic of Belarus took part in the Conference. The event consisted of a plenary session and four sections.
Olga Pavlenko, First Vice-Rector of RSUH, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech: “The topic of the War has always been controversial. It is worth noting that the analysis of different points of view and sociocultural codes of different countries in this context contributes to the most fruitful study of the history of international relations.”
Dr. Repina, President of the Russian Society for Intellectual History, spoke of the need for a more in-depth study of memorial culture and updating research tools.
During the plenary session, Olga Pavlenko also made a presentation, in which she examined controversial aspects and new sources for studying the topic of the July crisis of 1914.
Dr. Rostislavleva, in turn, highlighted the topic of the Great War in European historical memory.
Professor of the Ural Federal University Olga Porshneva spoke about the meaning of the War in the Russian discourse of 1914 and the current issues of understanding it.
The plenary session also included a report by Dr. Ivana Zebec Silj “Croatian veterans and disabled people of the First World War in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia and Socialist Yugoslavia”.
The participants in the first section, “Sources on the History of the First World War: Traditional Approaches and New Perspectives,” discussed a wide range of documentary and visual evidence that reveals new facets and new opportunities for constructing the memory of the world conflict.
The attitude of states towards prisoners of war and civilians during the First World War is one of the relevant and controversial aspects of the history of this conflict, was the topic of the section “Migrations, refugees, military and civilian captivity (1914-1918)”.
Various aspects of memorial culture were discussed in the section “Memorial culture: versions of understanding the Great War.”
