Country Studies of Central and Eastern Europe: How to Get Out of the Dive?

The current stage of development of studies of Central and Eastern Europe is characterized by a number of specific and common problems for the whole scientific direction. Systemic transformation in the states of the region at the turn of the 1980s-1990s led to a decrease in the level of their foreign economic and foreign policy relations with Russia, which influenced the interest in the study and accumulation of knowledge about Central and Eastern Europe in our country. In particular, the demand of state bodies for regular country studies of the region decreased, which affected the publication activity of scientific centers and the training of new scientists by specialized university departments. Central-Eastern Europe ceased to be considered as a separate region as its thirteen states were involved in European integration processes, and the number of scientific institutions and research teams for its study decreased. The disunity of specialists dealing with Eastern European problems and the low level of their scientific interaction leads to the formation of an "archipelago" of research centers. On the basis of open data, we found nine, oft en small, scientific teams for the study of history (from the middle of the 20th century), economy, society, domestic and foreign policy of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and analyze the results of their activities in 2010-21 (including topics and territorial scope of works). It is worth to note that in the Russian regions, the corresponding research within the framework of research teams is not carried out, they have survived only in Moscow. Such a key characteristic of country studies as complexity is gone – in the conditions of methodological stagnation and in the absence of the possibility of conducting comprehensive country studies, scientists tackle its components separately, and some of them have been abandoned. The predominance of the reductionist approach over the holistic one also applies to geographical coverage: our analysis of the specialization of scientists shows that many countries in the region remain outside the research field, and interest in two or three of them is due to cultural and historical ties and foreign policy agenda. The training of researchers and teachers at the departments of universities is carried out in an insufficient level for personnel renewal, the age of twothirds of the specialists is over 40 years old. In order to assess the prospects for solving this problem, we analyzed the topics of dissertations defended over ten years in 24 Russian universities and academic institutes in history, politics, economics and economic geography of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

1. Bitkova T.G. (ed.) (2020). Right-wing Parties and Organizations in the Political Landscape of Eastern Europe, Moscow: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences RAS (in Russian).

2. Glinkina S.P., Kulikova N.V. (eds.) (2010). Countries of Central and Eastern Europe – New Member States of the European Union: The Problems Of Adaptation, Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).

3. Igritskiy Yu.I. (ed.) (2015). Eastern European Countries and Russia: Development of Relations in 2005–2015, Moscow: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences RAS (in Russian).

4. Igritskiy Yu.I., Shanshieva L.N. (eds.) (2010). Eastern Europe: 20 Years of Social Transformation, Moscow: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences RAS (in Russian).

5. Kirillov V.B., Bulannikova Yu.A. (2015). International Relations and Foreign Policy of the Balkan Countries: 1856–2014: Textbook, Moscow: MGIMO-University (in Russian).

6. Kulikova N.V. (ed.) (2011). Central and Eastern Europe: Lessons from the Global Crisis, Saint Petersburg: Aletheia (in Russian).

7. Kulikova N.V., Knyazev Yu.K., Lobanov M.M. (eds.) (2019a). The Asian Vector in the Economic Strategy of the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Moscow: Institute of Economics RAS (in Russian).

8. Kulikova N.V., Knyazev Yu.K., Lobanov M.M. (eds.) (2019b). Problems of Economic Growth in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the Context of the New Reality in the World Economy, Moscow: Institute of Economics RAS (in Russian).

9. Kulikova N.V., Lobanov M.M., Sheynin E.Ya. (eds.) (2017). Vol. 1. Central-Eastern Europe. Post-socialist World: Results of Transformation. In 3 volumes (ed. Glinkina S.P.), Saint Petersburg: Aletheia (in Russian).

10. Matveev G.F., Nenasheva Z.S., Borisyonok Yu.A. (eds.) (2020). Historians-Slavists of Moscow State University. Book 13: The Abode of Slavic Antiquities. The Department of the History of the Southern and Western Slavs is 80 Years Old, Moscow: Publisher Stepanenko (in Russian).

11. Murashko G.P., Filimonova A.I., Volokitina T.V., Odintsov M.I. (eds.) (2014). State and Church in the USSR andthe Countries of Eastern Europe during the Political Crises of the Second Half of the 20th Century, Moscow: Institute of Slavic Studies RAS; Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya (in Russian).

12. Nikiforov K.V. (ed.) (2020). Essays on the Political History of the Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe: Late 20th – early 21st Centuries, Moscow; Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya (in Russian).

13. Nikiforov K.V., Kalashnikova N.Yu. (eds.) (2016). Between Moscow and Brussels, Moscow: Institute of Slavic Studies RAS (in Russian).

14. Nikiforov K.V., Valeva E.L., Zadorozhnyuk E.G., Mar’yina V.V., Stykalin A.S. (eds.) (2015). Central and South-Eastern Europe: Late 20th – early 21st Centuries. Aspects of Social and Political Development. Historical and Political Reference Book, Moscow, Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya (in Russian).

15. Nikiforov K.V., Valeva E.L., Zadorozhnyuk E.G., Novopashin Yu.S., Stykalin A.S. (eds.) (2011). Revolutions and Reforms in Central and South-Eastern Europe: 20 Years Later, Moscow: ROSSPEN (in Russian).

16. Nikiforov K.V., Zadorozhnyuk E.G., Stykalin A.S. (eds.) (2021). Transformational Revolutions in the Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. To the 30th Anniversary of Events: 1989–2019, Moscow: Institute of Slavic Studies RAS; Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya (in Russian).

17. Orlik I.I., Kulikova N.V. (eds.) (2016). Countries of Central and Eastern Europe: The Impact of New Geopolitical Factors on Economic Development and Relations with Russia, Moscow: Institute of Economics RAS (in Russian).

18. Shanshieva L.N. (ed.) (2013). Foreign Policy of the Countries of Eastern Europe in the First Decade of the 21st Century, Moscow: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences RAS (in Russian).

19. Shanshieva L.N. (ed.) (2018). Countries of Eastern Europe: Power, Business, Corruption, Moscow: Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences RAS (in Russian).

20. Shishelina L.N. (ed.) (2010). Visegrad Europe: Where and Where From? Two Decades on the Path of Reforms in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Moscow: Ves’ Mir (in Russian).

21. Shishelina L.N., Lunkin R.N., Drozhzhina E.V. (eds.) (2017). The Visegrad Four in the European Union: Convergence Dilemmas, Moscow: Institute of Europe RAS (in Russian).

22. Shishelina L.N., Vedernikov M.V. (eds.) (2018). Central Europe: a Political Portrait on the Background of the 100th Anniversary, Moscow: Institute of Europe RAS (in Russian).

23. Shishelina L.N., Vorotnikov V.V., Vedernikov M.V. (eds.) (2021). Central Europe: Thirty Years on the on the Path of Reforms. Problems, Challenges, Prospects, Moscow: Institute of Europe RAS (in Russian).

24. Volokitina T.V., Masterov V.P., Noskova A.F. (eds.) (2019). Moscow and Eastern Europe. National-territorial Problems and the Situation of Minorities in the Countries of the Region. Developments. Facts. Estimates, Moscow: Institute of Slavic Studies RAS; Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya (in Russian).