National Defence University’s Russia seminar 2027

The Finnish National Defence University (FNDU) will organise the 9th annual Russia Seminar on 17-18 February 2027 in Helsinki (Santahamina), Finland. The title of the seminar is Russia’s Preparations and Development for War.

The FNDU is now launching a Call for Papers on the following themes:

Theme I: War in Russian Strategic Thought

Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich wrote back in 2013, how in the Soviet Union everything was built for war: “we were either fighting or preparing for war”. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has engaged in multiple military conflicts at the region and beyond. How this trajectory is explained in contemporary Russian strategic thought? What factors are highlighted, or perhaps dismissed, in explaining Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. And perhaps even more importantly, how this war transforms strategic thought in Russia, i.e. illuminating systemic and political contours of the strategy. Understanding the place of war in Russian strategic thought is essential for assessing future trajectory of relations between Russia and Europe.    

Theme II: Developments in Russian Military

Based on its poorly conducted and longer than anticipated full scale war against Ukraine Russia should be thinking how to develop its Armed Forces for future wars – but is it, and is the Russian thinking forward or looking backward? What is the role of military science in the current Russian military thinking, or do wartime experiences and expediencies dominate? Is Russian military art stagnating or innovating and does it reflect objective changes in warfare or Russian wishes on how they would like future wars to be? How has the long war, degradation of capabilities and crossed ‘red lines,’ and dramatic changes in global politics, affected the Russian thinking about strategic deterrence? And is military thought even the main driving force behind the development of the Russian Armed Forces, and especially its organization, or are other factors driving change?

Theme III: The Social Foundations of Russia’s Military Power

This theme examines how the Russian state, society, and warfare interact in the context of Russia’s preparation for and conduct of war. It focuses on the societal foundations of military development, including militarization, civil–military relations, the war economy and defense industry, and the role of education and social institutions in shaping attitudes toward the military and war. The theme also welcomes perspectives from military sociology, including research on military culture, training, morale, cohesion, veteran and reserve issues, and professional identity within the armed forces. We invite papers that explore how the Russian state mobilizes social institutions, economic resources, and cultural narratives for military purposes, as well as how these processes are implemented, negotiated, or contested within society.

Submit an abstract by 13 November 2026

Speaker candidates are invited to write an abstract (300 words max.) Accepted abstracts will be published on the seminar website.  The abstract should contain:

  • Aims of the paper
  • Core research questions
  • Theoretical framework, key concepts, and methodology

The speakers are encouraged to extend their abstracts into articles, published in the FNDU series of research reports (including Finnish Defence Studies and/or Journal of Military Studies, both peer-review publications), as a part of conference proceedings if further agreed by both parties. The speakers who contribute both, a presentation in the Russia Seminar 2027 and an article, will be reimbursed for travelling and accommodation (max 2 nights in Helsinki). The final versions of an article are to be submitted not later than the end of March 2027. Detailed information about the article process will be sent to those, whose abstracts are accepted.

Please send your abstract not later than 13 November 2026 via this form. The Abstracts will be reviewed by the Seminar organising committee of the Russia Research Group at the National Defence University. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 4th December 2026.

Additional information

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact:

Senior researcher, D.Mil.Sci, LtCol (ret.) Pentti Forsström pentti.forsstrom@mpkk.fi (+358 299 530 511)

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Please find the Seminar programme here, and Seminar recordings from the National Defence University Youtube-channel.

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Please find the Seminar programme here and recordings of all the Seminar presentations and panels from the FNDU YouTube-channel.

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Please find the Seminar programme here, and Seminar recordings from the National Defence University Youtube-channel.

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Please find the Seminar programme here and Seminar recordings from the National Defence University’s Youtube channel.

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The seminar was organized fully online due to the COVID-19 situation. The Seminar recordings can be found from National Defence University’s Youtube channel. The Seminar programme and schedule can be found here.

The event was supported by the Mannerheim Foundation.

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The Seminar recordings can be found from National Defence University’s Youtube channel. The Seminar programme and schedule can be found here.

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The National Defence University organised the Seminar in cooperation with the University of Helsinki and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. The Mannerheim Foundation granted financial support that enabled the organising of the seminar.

You can find the Seminar recording here.