The article provides an analysis of the international congresses of historical sciences held between 1990 and 2022 in terms of the definition of major themes, specialized themes, round tables, joint sessions and evening sessions. It traces the development with regard to the changes in the geopolitical situation, the preferences of the organizing country, development of methodology in the field, and the differences between the countries of Euro- American civilization on the one hand and the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America on the other. It raises the question of the possibilities of smaller and medium-sized European countries in applying themselves as organizers of the international congress of historical sciences; in this context, it compares Poland, Norway and the Czech Republic. The author evaluates the organisation of a congress of this type as both an opportunity and a great test for historiographies that are breaking free from the grip of a narrower national framework and are striving for inclusion in the coordinates of world historiography.