The Ethnic, Linguistic and Cultural Making of Northern Russia

Abstract
The ethnic, linguistic and cultural situation of Northern and, especially, Northwestern Russia was stabilised no earlier than at the beginning of the Middle Ages along with the Slavicisation of the area. Prior to that time, the northern part of Russia was populated by Finno-Ugrian and Baltic peoples, their settlements comprising large areas in the central part of Russia, too. The Scandinavians, in turn, contributed to a drastic change of social structure by setting up trade colonies which later became urban centres. Among the early cities, Novgorod has a special status.
Research into the ancient ethnic, linguistic and cultural circumstances in the area covered by the present project, and into the mechanisms of that area's settlement history, requires a multidisciplinary approach. The project has been constructed to enable linguists, historians and archaeologists to meet in order to utilise each other's expertise and up-to-date results. The general objectives of the study are

• to investigate the linguistic and ethnic situation of Northern Russia from prehistorical times up to the present-day; 
• to examine the mechanisms and dynamics of the Slavs' settlement history and of Slavicisation, as well as the linguistic and cultural consequences resulting from the intercourse between the «old» and the «new» population to the linguistic and cultural making of the area; 
• to shed light on the societies that emerged at the beginning of the historical era (especially on the rise of Novgorod and other Northern Russian centres) and their linguistic situation.

The research is carried out by scholars in the fields of Slavonic studies, Finno-Ugrian studies, Baltic studies, Scandinavian studies and archaeology at the University of Helsinki, the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Petrozavodsk), the University of Latvia (Riga), the University of Leiden, the University of Oslo, the University of Tartu, and the University of Vienna.

Researcher in Charge: Juhani Nuorluoto, PhD, Reader, Academy Research Fellow, Department of Slavonic and Baltic Languages and Literatures, P.O. Box 24 (Unioninkatu 40B), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, tel. +358 (0)9 191 22010, juhani.nuorluoto(at)helsinki.fi

Project home page:http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/slav/nwrussia/

Researchers:
Susanna Pirnes, University of Helsinki, susanna.pirnes(at)helsinki.fi
Jouni Vaahtera, University of Helsinki, jouni.vaahtera(at)helsinki.fi
Arja Ahlqvist, University of Helsinki, arja.ahlqvist(at)helsinki.fi
Mihail Kopotev, University of Helsinki, mihail.kopotev(at)helsinki.fi
Christian Carpelan, University of Helsinki, christian.carpelan(at)kolumbus.fi
Pirjo Uino, University of Helsinki, pirjo.uino(at)nba.fi
Irma Mullonen, RAS, Karelian Branch, mullonen(at)onego.ru
Merja Salo, University of Helsinki, merja.salo(at)helsinki.fi
Andres Tvauri, University of Tartu, Dept of Archaeology, tvauri(at)ut.ee
Aleksej Gippius, RAS, Institut slavjanovedenija, agippius(at)mail.ru
Vadim Krys'ko, RAS, Institut russkogo jazyka, vkrysko(at)mail.ru
Nikolaj Makarov, RAS, Institut arheologii, ni.ma@g23.relcom.ru
Alexander Sitzmann, University of Vienna, Institut für Germanistik, alexander.sitzmann(at)univie.ac.at
Laimute Balode, University of Helsinki, laimute.balode(at)helsinki.fi 
Janne Saarikivi, University of Helsinki, janne.saarikivi(at)helsinki.fi
Jan Ivar Bjørnflaten, University of Oslo, j.i.bjornflaten(at)east.uio.no 
Willem Vermeer, University of Leiden, w.r.vermeer(at)let.leidenuniv.nl 
Andrej Zaliznjak, RAS, Institut slavjanovedenija
Jos Schaeken, University of Leiden, j.schaeken(at)let.leidenuniv.nl

Project description