The idea of ​​the project is based on the understanding that conflicting historical narratives about the development of relations between Russia, the West and Ukraine from the moment of the collapse of the Soviet Union should be considered as the main cause of the existing problems in Europe and at the global level. In order to contribute to overcoming the blocking of communication about existing narratives, the beginning project brings together experts from Russia, Ukraine and Germany. The participants will analyze the narratives of the conflict at the level of each of the three countries and work together on a “metanarrative”, which includes the perception and different views of all participants. Metanarrative does not mean that we necessarily have and share a common point of view. Rather, differences and conflicting interpretations are likely to persist, but can be presented from a meta point of view in a way that is acceptable to all parties to the dialogue. The generally accepted text of these narratives will be recorded and brought to the attention of the general public.

The kick-off workshop in Moscow was attended by 16 Russian participants: Sergey Akopov, Alexander Evseev, Sergey Krivenko, Dmitry Makarov, Anna Margolis, Andrey Medushevsky, Sergey Rastoltsev, Anatoly Reshetnikov, Olga Sidorovich, Mark Simon, Yuri Slinko, Maxim Timofeev, Sergey Utkin, and Vasily Zharkov. The discussion was moderated by Dirk Splinter and Ljubjana Wustehube.

The next stage of the project is an introductory meeting of Russian, Ukrainian and German experts.

The project was developed and has been implemented since 2018 by Inmedio Peace Consult GGmbh (Berlin) and the Institute for Law and Public Policy (Moscow). The project was made possible thanks to support from the German Federal Government for Foreign Affairs in the framework of expanding cooperation with civil societies in the countries of the Eastern Community and Russia.