Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted many scholars in the field of Russian Studies to reconsider their work – theoretically and practically, ethically and politically, – and engage in a wide-ranging process of reflection, questioning some deeply held assumptions that had been too naively and uncritically inflected by the ways 'Russian' identity has been constructed within the Russian Federation

The proposed workshop aims to contribute to this debate and support efforts to foster disciplinary and cross-disciplinary self-reflection. A lot of rethinking has rightfully been focused on re-mapping the relations between Ukrainian and Russian cultures, helping to highlight and consolidate a form of Ukrainian national identity in so doing. This workshop will aim to take stock of other forms of de-centering that have taken place as a result of the war. This will entail looking at shifts in decolonial epistemic practice, in approaches to alternative cultures within metropolitan Russia, and in re-framings of the transnational impetus that has defined Modern Languages in the UK in the last decade.