Russia and Norway: Research Collaboration and Comparison of Asymmetrical Relations

Abstract

This book is a presentation of a vast and remarkable piece of academic work, the first of two volumes on the theme of Russian–Norwegian points of contact between 1814 and 2014. This is the first volume, from 1814 to 1917, from the year of the Norwegian constitution to that of the Russian revolution. It consists of more than 600 pages divided into 21 chapters, brought forth by 17 historians, eight of them from Russia. The editor, Professor Jens Petter Nielsen from the University of Tromsø, besides contributing heavily to the text, is also responsible for sowing together or rather weaving all the different research contributions into one fabric. His main consultant has been Professor Kari Aga Myklebost, University of Tromsø, who has also contributed substantially to the text. In my presentation of the work I will first comment on the beginning of the collaboration between Russian and Norwegian historians seen from the perspective of the University of Tromsø. Only then will I turn to the book itself to give an impression of its themes and the many contact points of Russians and Norwegians that are elaborated on in the book. Some of the findings will be presented, but not argued against, as neither the space in this journal nor the competence of the presenter allows it. In Norway we have a lot of research connected to the Pomor trade and descriptions in local history writing. What we have lacked, until now, has been the Russian side, the Russian descriptions and perceptions dug out of Russian journals, biographies, research theses and not least, the archives.