About this day
For A-level and IB students
Our popular and exciting study day will appeal to all students studying 20th-century Russian history, with a focus on the period 1894 – 1964. This unmissable event is suitable for A-level and IB students as well as enthusiastic year 11 students preparing for the Edexcel, AQA and OCR specifications. World-class historians will present stimulating and relevant talks which are sure to inspire, inform and entertain. Topics will cover the end of Romanov rule and the Revolutions to communist government under Lenin through to the Stalin and Khrushchev eras.
The day will include a lunchtime examination session providing first-hand guidance and insights to help boost students’ confidence and grades. Useful handouts containing key information on the topics covered, suggested further reading together with examination advice will be provided and there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions throughout the day.
Programme & speakers
Nicholas II and the collapse of the Russian monarchy Dominic Lieven, University of Cambridge
Professor Lieven will examine the nature of the Tsarist regime and the reasons for its collapse in the traumatic final years of the Romanov dynasty.
About Professor Dominic Lieven
Professor Lieven is Senior Research Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge and a Fellow of the British Academy. His research interests are Imperial Russian history, the history of empires, the Napoleonic era and WW1. He has published widely on Russian history.
1917: The Year of Revolutions Julia Leikin, Royal Holloway, University of London
The lecture will discuss the political, social, and cultural developments of the two revolutions of 1917, while pointing out that their significance was largely created and shaped by the events of the decade that followed. In the second part of the lecture, I will emphasize the importance of narrative, memory, technology, and propaganda in consolidating the October revolution. The lecture will end with a nod towards the 1920s and a provocative question about when the real Russian revolution took place.
About Dr Julia Leikin
Dr Julia Leikin is a Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway University of London and a historian of Russia and Modern Europe. She has held teaching posts in institutions around the world, including in Moscow, Washington D.C. and Munich. She was recently on a podcast aimed at A-level students, alongside the comedian David Mitchell.
"NEP Be Damned!”: Revolution and the New Economic Policy Andy Willimott, QMUL
How did revolution play out in the NEP-era? After victory in the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks set about remaking Russian society in the 1920s. They enacted policies that revolutionised law, economics, culture, art and education. This lecture will assess what happened when revolutionary dreams met the economic realities of the Soviet 1920s.
About Dr Andy Willimott
Dr Andy Willimott is a historian of the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union and Senior Lecturer in Modern Russian History at Queen Mary University of London. His research interests focus particularly on revolution, radicalism and historical memory. He is an award-winning author and has acted as a historical consultant on multiple BBC radio and TV programmes.
Was Stalin a Revolutionary? Christopher Read, University of Warwick
Professor Read will examine the question of what motivated Stalin in his transformation of the USSR. The nature of the political, economic, social and cultural revolutions will be considered. The international context will also be taken into account as a key element.
About Professor Christopher Read
Christopher Read is Professor of Modern European History at the University of Warwick, specialising in twentieth century Russian history. He has published widely and his most recent book is The Russian intelligentsia: from the monastery to the Mir space station.
Khrushchev in Power, 1955-64 Daniel Beer, Royal Holloway, University of London
Emerging victorious from the leadership struggles that followed Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev faced a daunting task: how to salvage the Soviet project from Stalin’s tyranny. What became known as “the thaw” was an attempt to revitalise the economy, curb the power of the bureaucracy, dismantle the Gulag, and loosen the strict censorship that had suffocated the arts and culture. This talk will explore what happened next, at home and abroad.
(Image credit: RIA Novosti archive, image #9347 / V. Malyshev / CC-BY-SA 3.0)
About Professor Daniel Beer
Daniel is Professor of Modern European History at Royal Holloway and a specialist on Russia. His most recent book, The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile Under the Tsars, won the 2017 Cundill History Prize and was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize. He has written for The Guardian, History Today, BBC History, The Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.