New Threats, Old Challenges: Understanding Roman Imperialism in Post-Soviet Russia

Russian scholars who want to study the Roman Empire, its provinces, and theoretical aspects of Roman imperialism face issues such as the notable disfavour for theoretical re-thinking and debate (a striking contrast to Western academia). This has largely been determined by specific features of Russian academic tradition that have seen it distance from an anti-imperialist and Marxist political tool towards a neutral space that is anti-ideology with a bias against ‘hot’ topics. Other problems are created by the political context and socio-economic conditions of academics. To add to this, scholars are underpaid, underrated, overexploited, and act within a specific public discourse that is filled with imperial nostalgia. This paper discusses these issues and some of the key features of contemporary Russian scholarship on the Roman Empire and imperialism; special attention is given to Marxist legacy of Soviet scholarship and its potential for future studies of the Roman Empire. Possible strategies to deal with these factors are briefly discussed at the end.