The Institute of Slavonic Studies is a public research institution whose objective is the study of Slavonic languages and literatures in the context of European culture. The Institute’s methodology is grounded in the traditional comparative approach, which examines Slavonic languages and literatures in relation to each other and enriches this view with current trends in European Slavonic studies. Such research encompasses the examination of the interrelations between Slavonic and non-Slavonic environments. The Institute of Slavonic Studies thus contributes to the understanding of that part of national identity that has been and is being confronted in some way with other European cultures. The wide scope of research enables the Institute to engage in collaborative endeavours with other research institutes in Eastern and Western Europe. This makes it a partner of academic and university departments in Russia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Austria, and France. In some cases, this collaboration is based on a bilateral agreement. In Germany and Austria, for instance, some experts contribute to the Institute’s work as members of its editorial boards or as project participants.
In the field of diachronic Slavonic and Byzantine studies, research is primarily focused on the study of the earliest literary works of the Slavs and their relationship to Byzantine culture and the Latin mediaeval tradition. The field of synchronic Slavic linguistics and lexicography is concerned with the documentation of changes in contemporary vocabulary in Eastern and Southern Slavic languages and their equivalents in Czech. Additionally, it engages with the preservation of valuable cultural heritage — scholarly processing and authentic records of Carpatho-Rusyn dialects. The field of literary science is focused on examining the current trends in contemporary Slavic literatures, particularly in comparison to the broader European cultural environment. Moreover, the Institute is engaged in research on various other topics, including Czechoslovak cultural and literary relations, the history of Russian emigration in interwar Czechoslovakia, and the history of literary Slavonic studies. This area of research encompasses bibliographical projects and scholarly editions of previously unpublished sources.
The own publishing activity is aligned with this profile; since 1998, in the edition called The New Series of Works of the Institute of Slavonic Studies, the Institute has published sixty volumes. In addition, the Institute is behind three international peer-reviewed scholarly journals: Byzantinoslavica, Germanoslavica, and Slavia.