Are you thinking about studying Russian and Eurasian Studies? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

In the Russian and Eurasian Studies master's programme our experts devote attention to the most recent developments, currently the war in Ukraine. Several courses will provide context and background about this war.

Find out how to apply for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

The Master's programme in Russian and Eurasian Studies offers you the opportunity to develop specialised knowledge of this region. The programme provides you with a qualification which is recognised by organisations around the world, and offers excellent preparation for a diverse range of careers.

The Leiden University Institute for History has a wide-ranging academic scope unique for the Netherlands. This is directly reflected in the participation of her staff in various Master's and Bachelor's programmes at Leiden University.

When you apply for admission, you’ll be asked to submit several documents.

If you have a question, there are various ways to get in touch with us.

The pre-master's is a bridging programme for students who have applied for the MA Russian and Eurasian Studies, but who, according to the Board of Admissions, still have deficiencies in their educational background. Once you have completed the pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the Master’s…

To be eligible for Russian and Eurasian Studies, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

Your time at Leiden is about more than just studying. Some of your best experiences will stem from being a part of our lively and diverse student community, as well as from life in the beautiful city of Leiden.

In 2019, Aliaksandr Lukashenka marks a quarter of a century as the first, and so far only president of the Republic of Belarus. This new book by Dr. Matthew Frear, Assistant Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, offers the most up-to-date analysis of government and politics in a country usually…

Below you can find lists of Leiden-based and international organizations working on Central Asia, and an overview of useful resources on Central Asia.

LUCAS members are experts in the fields of literary history and theory, film and media studies, and art, architectural, and book history. Members of LUCAS teach in a wide variety of Bachelor's, Master’s, and Research Master’s Programmes.

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

This project explores how Muslim authorities and writers use Russian to transmit Islamic contents, and whether this leads to a specific

Leiden University offers ambitious students the latest knowledge and the freedom to develop their own area of expertise.

This book explores the intellectual and cultural flows between Asia and Europe which occurred during – and were formative of – the political and social changes of the first half of the twentieth century.

What holds people together and what makes them willing to fit within larger political structures? Our project examines this question in the practices of dynastic rulership in Eurasia ca. 1300-1800.

These courses address all language skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading.

Prince, Pen, and Sword offers a synoptic interpretation of rulers and elites in Eurasia from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. Four core chapters zoom in on the tensions and connections at court, on the nexus between rulers and religious authority, on the status, function, and self-perceptions…

In this sub-project a selected number of narrative texts will be examined written in the Eurasian realm in the period 1300-1800, focusing on representations of kingship and royal authority.

How were the Russians, under early modern conditions, able to incorporate this distant, undeveloped and, because frequent nomadic attacks, dangerous territory? And what role did the Kolyvan-Voskresensk plants play in this process?

Discover history and present. With it's eventful history and politics, Russia is a country with a large influence on Europe and the world. In the Dutch-taught Bachelor's programme Russian Studies you will learn everything about the culture, language and politics of the largest country in the world and…

The Academic Language Centre Leiden offers Russian language courses at various levels and tailor-made Russian language courses. The courses are practical in nature: focusing on the use of the language. More information can be found here >

Insights in diet, climate and ecology

Russia is a world power and an upcoming economy in which the Netherlands is a serious investor. Leiden University has been studying the Slavic world for 100 years. Professor Jos Schaeken: ‘If a decision has to be made at international level, Russia is always involved.’

On 18 December 2019, Mikhail Antonov defended his thesis 'Formalism, Realism and Conservatism in Russian Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. W.B. Simons.

The Academic Language Centre is organising an introduction to Ukrainian with the Russian Studies/Russian and Eurasian Studies programmes. This six-part course is meant primarily for people who are in contact with refugees from Ukraine.

Jos Schaeken has just published a book entitled 'Stemmen op berkenbast. Berichten uit middeleeuws Rusland: dagelijks leven en communicatie'.

Your tuition fee depends on a number of factors, such as your nationality and your previous Dutch higher-education qualifications.

In September 2013 I moved to Leiden from the UK to take up the position of Assistant Professor covering politics and international relations on the BA Russian Studies and International Studies programmes and the MA Russian and Eurasian Studies.

How do you integrate minorities into a society, and what kind of influence does this have on the collective identity? These questions may seem modern, but they have been relevant for a long time. The new Eurasian Empires research group studies how integration and formation of identity took place in…

This research is driven by the necessity to investigate the subject of performing instrumental works by Russian post-minimalist composers, and to explore possibilities of incorporating the spiritual ideas that informed those works in a concert practice.

Although it is already certain that Vladimir Putin will win the Russian presidential election on 18 March, it is still significant for him, argues Russian expert André Gerrits. ‘The support of the people reinforces Putin's position of power.’

The final conference of the Eurasian Empires programme took place from 15 to 17 June 2016 in Leiden. The conference concluded a five-year research programme in which nine researchers worked on their own specific projects within the programme’s Eurasian scope, transcending borders by bringing together…

This proposed research uses ego-documents from visual artists that were not intended for publication to reassess the scholarly debate on the demise of the Russian Avant-garde aesthetic in the twenties and early thirties of the 20th century.

This volume edited by Jan Lucassen and Leo Lucassen aims to quantify and qualify cross-cultural global migrations and was published in the series 'Studies in Global Migration History'.

The Horizon programme 'Eurasian Empires: integration processes and identity formations' started September 1st 2014. The six PhD students and two Postdocs introduce themselves.

The application procedure is broken down into three parts.

Russian literature is awash with disputes, riots and intense political debates. In the new Dutch podcast Schandaal en Controverse in de Russische literatuur, senior lecturer Otto Boele and film maker and journalist Kay Mastenbroek discuss the most talked-about Russian books published in the past two…

The Uzbek Ambassador Mr. Vladimir Norov visited Leiden University on 17 April. Mr. Norov met with the rector magnificus Professor Carel Stolker and attended the exhibition

Ornately decorated head pieces and jewellery, images of imposing mosques and photos of local people. The 'Splendours of the Silk Roads' exhibition depicts life and different cultures along this important trade route.

This month, the volume Reading Russian Literature, 1980-2024, edited by Otto Boele and Dorine Schellens, was published at Palgrave Macmillan.