The Russian war against Ukraine, the political repression in Russia and Belarus and the massive threat to academic freedom have severely restricted research and work opportunities for Eastern European scholars. Research trips to Russia and Belarus are currently not possible. The Max Weber Foundation has discontinued all cooperation with Russian and Belarusian state institutions as well as the scholarship programmes to Russia.

The MWS is responding to this changed situation by establishing an Eastern European network that will bring together the Foundation's capacities in the region in future and is designed to expand. A first location in Tbilisi/Georgia is intended to create sustainable research and networking opportunities between academics at German institutions and in the Caucasus region. The network will be expanded to include the office established by the GHI Warsaw in Vilnius/Lithuania and will be complemented in the future by infrastructures in Helsinki/Finland, where particularly large relevant library collections are located outside Russia, and Ukraine.

The network currently offers the following scholarship programmes:

Research scholarship for early career researchers at German universities and research institutions
The MWN Eastern Europe research fellowship programme is aimed at early career researchers who have an institutional affiliation with a German university or research institution. It enables research stays of one to three months in the post-Soviet states (except Russia and Belarus) and Finland. Funding is provided for archival research on historical topics specific to Eastern Europe.

Germany Scholarship for researchers from the South Caucasus
The Georgia office of the Max Weber Network Eastern Europe promotes the development of academic exchange and academic cooperation between the research landscapes in the South Caucasus and Germany in the field of history and its neighbouring disciplines. To this end, it awards research grants for a research stay of up to three months in Germany to outstanding doctoral students, post-docs and experienced academics who are affiliated with an institution in the countries of the South Caucasus. 

Current calls

Contact:

Dr Sandra Dahlke

Head of Network

sandra.dahlke(at)mws-osteuropa.org

Dr Andreas Hilger

Deputy Head of Network and
Head of Georgia Branch Office

andreas.hilger(at)mws-osteuropa.org