Jardar Østbø - The New Third Rome : Readings of a Russian Nationalist Myth

T his book could not have been completed without the help of oth ers . First of all, I am deeply indebted to my two PhD supervisors, Jostein Brtnes and Pl Kolst. Without their support, enthusiasm and constructive commentaries from the very outset, it would not have been possible to start work on the project in the first place. Their critical readings of my manuscripts and continuous engage ment at all stages have been crucial. I am particularly pleased that Pl Kolst, who sparked my interest in the field when I was an un dergraduate student in the 1990s, has kindly agreed to write the foreword.

I would like to thank the Faculty of Humanities, University of Bergen , for granting me a three-year fellowship and thus providing ideal conditions for conduct ing research. I am also grateful to my current workplace , the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages (ILOS) at the University of Oslo , with project coordinator Geir Flikke , for making it possible for me to prepare and update the manuscript for book publication.

Special than ks go to Yngvar B . Steinholt for useful and con structive commentaries on the first version of the project outline.

As a n otherwise independent PhD student , I had the great advantage of participating in the research project The Borders of Europe , headed by Lillian Helle, Helge Vidar Holm, Sissel Lgreid and Torgeir Skorgen . Early versions of C hapters 4 and 6 of this book were presented at the project s international workshops in St Petersbur g (June 2008) and Athens (April 2009), respectively. I am grateful to all participants for enlightening discussions and for providing a stimulating and encouraging milieu.

I have also reaped the benefits of two international research projects at the University of Bergen : Landslide of the Norm: Lin guistic Liberalization and Literary Development in Russia in the 1920s and 1990s (2005 2008) and The Future of Russian: Lan guage Culture in the Era of New Technology (2009 ) . While thematically not directly related to my work, these projects have, thanks to seminars, guest lectures and other events , given me the opportunity to discuss aspects of my project with prominent re searchers in various field s of Russian studies. I t has been inspiring to participate in the activities of these projects, and I am deeply in debted to their leader, Ingunn Lunde, for her enthusiasm and wel coming attitude from the outset.

I would like to thank Dmitrii Sidorov for his keen interest in my project and for fruitful discussions during my visit to Moscow.

I am grateful to Andrzej de Lazari at the University of d for help and support during my stay in Warsaw.

I would also like to thank my Bergen colleagues in general and in the Russian section in particular for making the department a pleasant place to work . Special thanks go to my fellow PhD stu dent s Alexander Berdichevsky, Kre Johan Mjr and Martin Paulsen , and to research fellows Ellen Rutten and Vera Zvereva, with whom I have been sharing an office, for interesting discus sions and companionship.

I am grateful to Kyrill Dissanayake for copyediting of the first version of the manuscript and to Susan Hivik for a final language check. Any r emaining errors and omissions are, of course, my own.

Last, but by no means least: w ith out the love and support from my wife , Anna , and my parents , Anne Sofie and Johannes, this project c ould not have been completed. I dedicate this book to my children Stanis aw and Maja .