Elena Korchmina
DKK 1.633.874,4. Funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie foundation (01-08-2021)

Title: Denmark and Russia: Why two Arctic empires developed so differently and continue to diverge?
At a time when public attention emphasizes differences rather than similarities, comparative studies of Russia and Europe open new perspectives beyond the familiar dichotomous discourse. In this spirit, my MCSA project “Denmark and Russia: Why two Arctic empires developed so differently and continue to diverge?” (DEAR) examines Russo-Danish relations in the 18th and the 19th centuries, an epoch when the paths of two countries markedly diverged. During the whole 18th century they were very close in terms of economic and institutional development, but after the abolition of serfdom in Denmark in 1800 their paths diverged significantly. This was most striking with the gradual collapse of the Danish empire, and the subsequent rapid development of the remaining territory, whereas Russia remains relatively “backward”, although with its territory largely intact. From the 1860s a much-reduced Denmark became a teacher to its bigger partner through the transfer of knowledge, expertise, and experts – a process which aided Russian development, and emphasizes the links between the two countries, although these were by no means new.