Rostock in Russian Studies on Russian-Hanseatic relations: A historiographical review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34680/Caurus-2025-4(3)-251-261

Keywords:

Rostock, Hanseatic League, Russian-Hanseatic relations, historiography, Novgorod, Wendish cities

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of the city of Rostock in Russian and Soviet historiography devoted to Russo-Hanseatic relations. Despite the fact that scholars formally acknowledge Rostock’s status as one of the leading “Wendish” cities, its direct involvement in activities related to the Russian sphere has regularly remained on the periphery of scholarly narratives. The article presents a detailed and systematic review of the works of M. N. Berezhkov, F. Ya. Fortinsky,
E. A. Rybina, N. A. Kazakova, A. L. Khoroshkevich, A. A. Svanidze,
I. M. Kulisher, V. A. Arakcheev, M. B. Bessudnova, and N. V. Salonikov. Their analyses demonstrate that the scarcity and fragmentary nature of information about Rostock resulted not only from the characteristics of the source base but also from a persistent research paradigm. This paradigm was formed in the pre-revolutionary period and was not overcome during the Soviet or post-Soviet eras. Within this framework, primary importance is assigned to such actors as Lübeck and Livonia, while Rostock plays the role of a “supporting” or secondary actor. The article concludes that over the course of a century and a half, Russian scholarship has failed to develop a sustained demand for research devoted specifically to Rostock. Consequently, its image has retained an auxiliary, subordinate character.

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Author Biography

A. V. Morozov , Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Veliky Novgorod, Russia

postgraduate student of the Department of World History
and International Relations
e-mail: morozov_av@tass.ru

References

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Published

2025-09-30

How to Cite

Morozov , A. V. (2025). Rostock in Russian Studies on Russian-Hanseatic relations: A historiographical review . Caurus, 4(3), 251–261. https://doi.org/10.34680/Caurus-2025-4(3)-251-261

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2025): Caurus

Section

Articles