The course has the following learning objectives:
• Getting to know the historical trends characterizing contemporary age in Russian and Eurasian territories that first were part of the Russian Empire and then of the USSR;
• Understanding the major questions and interpretations of Russian and Eurasian history in contemporary historiography;
• Appreciating how cultural, political, religious, social, geopolitical elements have constantly been intertwined in the historical development of the area;
• Becoming aware of how that characteristic ‘Russian otherness’ has been shaped in contemporary age through the relation with global events and concurrent differentiation processes .