On June 18, at 7 pm Tbilisi time, the biweekly research colloquium of the Institute for Social and Cultural Research, Ilia State University, will host Tom Trier with a talk on his research: “Scandinavia and the South Caucasus: Diplomatic and Consular Relations 1918-1922”.
Abstract:
The colloquium addresses the historical connections between two distant and distinct regions on Europe’s edges: Scandinavia and the South Caucasus. From the late nineteenth century, maritime trade between Scandinavian and Black Sea ports fostered new commercial ties and consular relations. Scandinavian merchants played key roles in this exchange, often serving as consuls. The discovery of oil along the Caspian Sea attracted Scandinavian entrepreneurs—most notably the Swedish Nobel family—helping transform Baku into a major industrial hub. Between the late 1870s and the early 1920s, oil drove significant economic and socio-political change in the South Caucasus.
In particular, the colloquium focuses on the turbulent years around World War I and the fall of the Russian Empire, when Georgia, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, briefly gained independence in 1918. It draws on Scandinavian and Georgian perspectives to show how consuls and diplomats navigated shifting politics, and how Georgia’s social democratic leaders looked to neutral Scandinavia as a bridge to Europe. The four-decade relationship ended abruptly with the Red Army invasions of the South Caucasus in 1920-1921.
The presentation is based on Tom Trier’s archive research for his book that will be released on 15 July 2026: “Blue Sea, Black Gold, Red Banner: Scandinavia and the South Caucasus, 1880s–1920s“, Northern Illinois University Press.
Bio:
Tom Trier is a Danish scholar, who has lived and worked in the Caucasus for two decades. He holds an M.Sc. in social anthropology from the University of Copenhagen and has spent over ten years working as a diplomat for the European Union, including in Georgia. Trier specialises in ethno-political issues and has published extensively on ethnic minorities in East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, Georgian-Abkhaz relations, and the Meskhetian population deported from Georgia in the 1940s.
The event will take place in English via Zoom. Registration is required.
To register please follow this link.
