Russian Studies on the Eve of a New Start Russia's War, Isolation, and Consequences

Russia's war against Ukraine has massive repercussions on the way Russian Studies sees itself and how it conducts its work. Similar to what happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the field faces a need to reformulate key assumptions and develop new methods. Back then Russian Studies reacted with new paradigms and gained recognition in the mother disciplines of the social sciences thanks to broad-based field research, high standards, pertinent methods, and substantive findings. Under conditions of isolation and repression in Russia, as well as the war against Ukraine, these achievements are in danger of being wiped out.