Editor's Foreword

Abstract

The history of the Baltic region, which for centuries united peoples and states through a shared fate, is one of the most in-demand and productive fields in contemporary historical scholarship – at least judging by the volume of publications. Its scholarly appeal persists despite changing trends and shifts in historical research; moreover, the discursive nature
of the issues associated with it in itself generates an important impulse for further development of studies in this field, providing rich material for the analysis of regional problems and processes affecting the societies concerned. Understanding the origins of contemporary tensions at the intersection of the Russian and Western European “worlds” in all their manifestations is impossible without turning to their historical roots in the full unity of their diversity. The journal Caurus, one of the scholarly periodicals of Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, is intended to contribute to this task by covering various aspects of contacts between the Russian North-West and the peoples and countries of the Baltic region in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period.

The current issue opens with the first part of an article by Professor Norbert Angermann (Germany), one of the leading specialists in the study of Russian-Hanseatic relations of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. He presents an overview of how Western European and Russian historical scholarship of the 19th and 20th centuries has studied the role played by the cities of Old Livonia – Riga, Reval (Tallinn), and Dorpat (Tartu) – in the organization and dynamic development of the eastern enclave of the Hanseatic economic space oriented toward trade with North-Western Russia, Belarus, and Finland. The author does not aim to provide a detailed bibliographic survey of publications on this topic, the number of which increased significantly after the end of the Second World War due to the noticeable internationalization of research in this field. As a result, by the end of the 20th century the contribution of German scholars, who had previously dominated the field, gradually began to decline against the background of growing activity among historians from the Baltic states and Russia. We are deeply grateful to the author for his intention to create a systematized picture of the intensity, diversity, and directions of research into this subject, which directly concerns the history of complex, ambiguous, yet productive, mutually beneficial, and stable economic contacts between our country and the Western European world. By engaging with the content of the article, an interested reader may discover much that is new from the rich historiographical legacy of long-term studies of relations between the cities of the Russian North-West and the Hanseatic League – insights that may prompt a more critical attitude toward claims of the League’s inherent hostility toward Russian commercial enterprise that occasionally appear in the media. Moreover, the systematic approach proposed by Professor Angermann enables Russian readers, accustomed to viewing the Hanseatic League exclusively through its partnership with Novgorod and Pskov, to appreciate the scale and distinctiveness of this organization, particularly the significance of the commercial mediation of Livonian cities, which for centuries – despite numerous difficulties – served as a connecting link between Russian cities and those of the overseas Hanseatic League.

Professor Angermann notes the achievements of the Novgorod school of modern Hanseatic studies, and in confirmation of his assessment the editorial board continues the Hanseatic theme of the issue by publishing articles by young scholars of Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, whose research focuses on expanding the source base of Hanseatic studies through the use of foreign archival collections. For example, A. S. Tsvetkova examines the correspondence of the Lübeck magistrate to Reval from 1481–1500 preserved in the Tallinn City Archive (Tallinna Linnaarhiiv), most of which has either never been published or has appeared only in abstract form. Among the eleven letters analyzed, documents related to court proceedings concerning trade and property disputes predominate. The increase in their frequency in the 1490s is interpreted by the author as clear evidence of the intensification of business contacts between Lübeck and Livonian Reval, as well as the escalation of contradictions inevitable in the context of competition for leading positions in the Russian market.

V. Morozov, who plans to study the holdings of the Rostock City Archive, presents an essay on how the place of Rostock within the Hanseatic system has been studied in pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and contemporary Russian historiography. Despite acknowledgment of Rostock as one of the leading Wendish cities forming the core of the Hanseatic League, its participation in Hanseatic trade – especially on the Russian market – has traditionally remained on the periphery of scholarly interest. The scarcity and fragmentary nature of information about Rostock in studies of Russo-Hanseatic trade is attributed by the author not so much to the condition of the source base as to the persistence of a research paradigm in which the roles of principal actors are traditionally assigned to Lübeck and the Hanseatic cities of Livonia. According to the author, the role of Rostock as a mere “extra” should be reconsidered, which would enrich our understanding of Russo-Hanseatic relations with new nuances, particularly given the largely unexplored potential of the Rostock City Archive.

The present issue is by no means limited to Hanseatic topics. In an article by K. V. Khivrich (Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Veliky Novgorod), the focus is on traditions of using the history of medieval Novgorod in the policies of the city’s leadership during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, reconstructed on the basis of official documents and periodical publications. Analysis of the narratives employed allowed the author to identify trends in changes in the official perception of Novgorod’s centuries-long history depending on political circumstances, commemorative practices related to monument construction, anniversary celebrations, and toponymic policy. The article traces the formation and development of the concept positioning Veliky Novgorod as the origin of Russian statehood—a concept whose beginnings are associated with the erection of the Millennium of Russia monument in the Novgorod Kremlin in 1862 and which continues to the present day, as evidenced by contemporary brands such as “Veliky Novgorod – the Birthplace of Russia” and “City-University.” Among the most important instruments for popularizing Novgorod’s history in the tourism sector and in the implementation of various domestic political programs are the regular citywide and nationwide events linked to anniversaries of Novgorod (1100 years in 1959, 1125 in 1984, 1140 in 1999, and 1150 in 2009) and of Russian statehood (1150 years in 2012), as well as the celebrations of the 750th anniversary of Alexander Nevsky in 1970 and the Days of Slavic Literacy and Culture in 1988. Novgorod’s participation in the activities of the Hanseatic League gave rise to the idea of hosting International Hanseatic Days in Novgorod, first held in 2009, which in turn provided additional incentives for city and regional authorities to use the city’s medieval history to reinforce its great achievements in public consciousness.

International trade in the Baltic region at the close of the Middle Ages depended to a considerable extent on the political situation, complicated by military actions undertaken by participants in the large-scale “struggle for the Baltic.” The article by M. A. Nesin (Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg) addresses one of the important and debated episodes of the Russo-Swedish War of 1495–1497 – namely, the Russian raid on the environs of Olavinlinna in southeastern present-day Finland in the spring–summer of 1496, initiated by Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow. Following A. A. Zimin and N. S. Borisov, the author is convinced of the reality of this raid as an independent military operation intended to support the actions of the Ushaty princes’ troops in the waters of the northern Gulf of Bothnia. The scarcity and inconsistency of chronicle evidence give rise to numerous questions and render conclusions hypothetical. The main argument in favor of the independence of the detachment’s actions is its mobility, which allows the author to assume that it was a cavalry force. At the same time, the spring thaw and poor road conditions in the presumed area of operations, noted by the author, hardly facilitated the use of cavalry—this would have been possible only in the case of a prolonged winter enabling movement across frozen bodies of water, which were numerous in the region. However, according to the author, the spring of 1496 was marked by early flooding. In addition, a cavalry campaign would have raised the issue of forage supply, which in a sparsely populated area, especially in early spring, would have posed a serious problem. Under such circumstances, the use of a mounted “host” would be atypical for Russian military strategy, although the actions of a separate cavalry unit performing a specific strategic task are entirely conceivable. The hypothetical nature of this assumption invites discussion, and the editorial board welcomes responses to M. A. Nesin’s article and original approaches to the issues it raises.

The issue concludes with a review by V. V. Grokhotova (Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Veliky Novgorod) devoted to the 4^th Novgorod Summer School for Young Historians, held from June 30 to July 6, 2025, at the Humanities Institute of Novgorod University. Participants included undergraduate and graduate students from Veliky Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Rostov-on-Don, Pskov, Astrakhan, Barnaul, and Yekaterinburg. According to a tradition established in 2021, the organization of summer educational programs in Veliky Novgorod aims to integrate the achievements of modern scholarship into the educational process and to stimulate independent student research through project-based learning. During the summer school, participants were introduced to the main areas and results of the research activities of the Department of World History and International Relations, to the methodology and experience of project-based work, and to the possibilities offered by modern digital technologies in historical research. The program included extensive lecture, practical, and excursion components, complemented by a professional development course entitled “International Contacts of the Russian North-West in Sources: A Project-Based Approach to Historical Research,” hosted on the Novgorod State University distance learning platform. Participants attended original lectures on Novgorod’s international connections in different historical periods, on the results of archaeological research in Veliky Novgorod, and on traditions of literacy and education and Novgorod’s role in their formation. Special attention was paid to working with written sources, including practical sessions on sources in Latin, Middle Low German, and Russian. As part of mastering the project-based approach to historical research, participants acquired basic theoretical knowledge and experience in developing their own historical projects.