Old World Review

Old World Dōngxī #1 In this series we introduce somewhat randomly chosen online curiosities – historical documents or visual materials – that you may explore at your own leisure. These items tie into the t…

Introducing the first installment of the Old World Dōngxī -series, where we share interesting historical curiosities, both textual and visual, regarding the themes of the site.
Today: A novel in Dungan, art in Kazakh SSR, letters of a 19th century philologist...

oldworldreview.com/2025/07/09/o...

The Gagauz – The Forgotten Minority of Eastern Europe This is a guest article written by Jake Todd. Pictures added by M.A. The Gagauz of Moldova are one of Eastern Europe’s many forgotten minorities (although they themselves would most likely object t…

It is common to see the Gagauz left unmentioned in European discourses. They are a sizeable Turkic Orthodox minority mostly living in Moldova, with an interesting history of which we have provided a brief overview below.

oldworldreview.com/2022/01/25/t...

#history #turkic #europe #culturalhistory

Creating Eurasia – The origins of the 19th century Turanism European sciences, from natural sciences to humanities, developed comprehensively in the 19th century. These advancements were not only linked with socio-economic developments but also with colonia…

"Turanism" was an elusive 19th century movement based on a broad range of theory-crafting and political & military motivations. This ethnolinguistic theory assumed an affinity between many Eurasian nations, including Turkic, Mongolic and Finnic peoples.

oldworldreview.com/2024/06/03/c...

Celluloid Union #1 – Progress Narratives in Shepitko’s Heat (1963) and Farewell (1983) Celluloid Union is an ongoing exploration of Soviet filmmaking as a practice of worldbuilding through mass-culture. For the toiling peoples of Moscow’s 20th-century empire and its worldwide admirer…

As the first essay in a series of "ongoing exploration of Soviet filmmaking as a practice of worldbuilding through mass-culture," Y. Katzman provides a comparison of progress narratives in Soviet film director Shepitko’s Heat (1963) and Farewell (1983).

oldworldreview.com/2025/06/06/c...

Living in a Dream – A brief portrait of an extraordinary Minister of Defence The following is a brief introduction to a Finnish politician of the Cold War era, who was known for his unusual experience during the Finnish Civil War, his esoteric theosophical worldview, and hi…

Here's a brief introduction to Yrjö Kallinen, an extraordinary Finnish politician of the Cold War era. He's known for his unusual experience during the Finnish Civil War, his esoteric theosophical worldview, and his unwavering commitment to pacifism.

oldworldreview.com/2025/06/05/l...

Old World Review is an online publication for exploratory essays on historical and cultural topics of Eurasia.
We are particularly interested in histories of small nations and languages, on borderlands and exchanges, as well as lesser studied art histories. We take submissions!