The Landslide project is financed by the Norwegian Research Council (FRIHUM 2005-2008).

The project studies interrelations between linguistic liberalisation and literary development in Russia in two periods of historical transition: the post-Revolutionary years of the 1920s and the post-Soviet period of the 1990s. In both periods, a potent «landslide of the norm» expresses itself in a linguistic turbulence which receives a wide range of responses in diverse spheres of language culture.

Within the context of the «language question» permeating all spheres of social, cultural and political life, the project focuses on the articulation and thematisation of language development in fictional and semi-fictional genres. Here the «language question» may take on a number of different forms and functions, ranging from a critique of language and play with linguistic diversity, to linguistic, discursive and narrative experimentation.

Interdisciplinary in scope and organisation, the project aims at consolidating scholars, insights and approaches from different fields, such as linguistics, communication theory, cultural semiotics as well as literary and rhetorical analysis. Our comparative frame of reference enable us to determine contemporary processes from a historical perspective and trace fundamental features of cultural and social change during two crucial periods of Russian history.

The primary objectives of the project are:
- To enhance our understanding of ongoing literary and linguistic processes in contemporary Russian culture.
- To contribute to the interpretation of individual works and authors of Russian literature of the 1920s and 1990s.
- To stimulate comparative and interdisciplinary research with a view to developing novel theoretical and methodological approaches.

The project also intends to:
- Provide a stimulating research environment for graduate and MA students.
- Consolidate and extend the international network of scholars (“active partners”), by means of visiting fellowships, guest lectures, workshops and conferences.