Tom Trier, "Blue Sea, Black Gold, Red Banner: The South Caucasus and Scandinavia, 1880s–1920s" (Northern Illinois UP, 2026)

Blue Sea, Black Gold, Red Banner: The South Caucasus and Scandinavia, 1880s–1920s

(Northern Illinois University Press, 2026) tells the story of the

historical connections between two geographically distant and culturally

distinct regions on the edges of Europe: Scandinavia and the South

Caucasus. From the late nineteenth century, maritime trade fostered new

commercial links and consular relations. Scandinavian merchants,

particularly in Batumi and Baku, played key roles. The discovery of oil

along the Caspian Sea shores attracted Scandinavian entrepreneurs,

notably the Swedish Nobel family, helping to develop Baku into a booming

industrial hub.

Tom

Trier focuses on the years of upheaval surrounding World War I and the