Russlands Krieg in der Ukraine: Müssen die Osteuropahistoriker umdenken?

Is today’s war a reason to rethink the foundations and orientation of historical research on Eastern Europe? This article answers the question in the negative and provides the following reasons: Innovations in historiography proceed from theoretical and methodological impulses and the use of new source material, less from current events. The essay, however, identifies several serious deficits in today’s historiography on Eastern Europe. It then discusses the alleged Russian focus of historiography and the problematic tendency towards nationalisation in demanding a stronger focus on Ukrainian history and calls for global historical questions to feature more prominently.