Professor Paul Dukes of the University of Aberdeen’s History Department and two leading Russian academics are the main speakers at a conference exploring the historical and cultural links between Scotland and Russia at 10am on Saturday 21 March at the University of Aberdeen.
‘Scotland and Russia - Historical and Cultural Connections’ is a one day conference jointly organised by the Elphinstone Institute and Centre for Scottish Studies at the University which highlights the prominent role of Scots who emigrated to Russia and Russians of Scottish ancestry. A short concert of Russian and Scottish music concludes the conference.
Professor Dukes, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Russian, East and Central European Studies at Aberdeen University presents the opening paper titled: ‘In the Service of the Tsars’ which examines 17th and 18th century history when soldiers from North East Scotland travelled to Russia to serve with Tsarist armies and their links with well known Scottish landmarks including Keith Hall and Dunnotar Castle.
Professor Paul Dukes said:
“The conference traces and highlights some of the significant historical and cultural connections between Russia and Scotland emphasising, in particular, the strong links with the North East.”
Dr Dimitry Fedosov, a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of General History at the Russian Academy of Sciences and author of ‘The Caledonian Connection’ and ‘Born Fechtin’, will be discussing the extraordinary life of Patrick Gordon from Ellon, whose diary - detailing Gordon’s move to soldier in Russia - he is currently editing.
Renowned expert on Russian music and culture, Professor Izaly I Zemtsovsky, a visiting professor at the University of California, continues the theme of North East soldiers travelling to Russia in his paper: ‘Three Scottish Names in Russian Cultural History’.