Catherine Merridale | |
|---|---|
 Merridale at the Göteborg Book Fair in Sweden, 2017 | |
| Born | 12 October 1959 |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge University of Birmingham |
| Thesis | The Communist Party in Moscow 1925-1932 (1987) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
| Sub-discipline | |
| Institutions |
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Catherine Anne Merridale, FBA (born 12 October 1959) is a British writer and historian with a special interest in Russian history.
Merridale was born on 12 October 1959 to Philip and Anne Merridale. [1] She was educated at Andover Grammar School, a state school in Andover, Hampshire, and at Cricklade College, a further education college that is also in Andover. [1] She studied history at King's College, Cambridge, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1982. [1] [2] She continued her studies at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies of the University of Birmingham, and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1987. [1] [2] Her doctoral thesis was titled "The Communist Party in Moscow 1925-1932". [3]
Merridale was Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary, University of London from 2004 to 2014. [1] She has been a senior research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, since her retirement from full-time academia in 2014. [1] [4]
In an interview with The Independent, Merridale recalls how she became interested in Russia and its past. She began studying Russian in school and first visited the country at the age of 18. She said of her first impression of Russia, "Going from the then ghastly Soviet airport, everything in Moscow was grey and cold and hard. Suddenly in the middle of the city were these golden cupolas and enormous redbrick walls with peculiar swallowtail battlement pattern that didn’t look Russian, but did at the same time." [5] When she began work on her higher degrees, Merridale spent a year living in Moscow and observing the changes occurring during that time. [5] In another interview with Waterstones.com, Merridale summarises her perspective of Russian history, "my message is that we have to take each generation of Russian leaders as they are and not keep assuming that Russia is fated to follow a special path and will always be the same. That there is a Russian destiny." [6]
Having retired from her academic career, Merridale became a freelance writer in 2014. She has written for the London Review of Books , the New Statesman , The Independent , The Guardian , and the Literary Review . She has also contributed to BBC Radio. [7] [8] The author has spoken out publicly about the issues of publishing books in the field of history. There is much more pressure to publish shorter articles than full-length books, a "great shame" according to Merridale, author of multiple history books. [9]
Catherine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe.
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era. He is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatoslav Richter's December nights has been held in the Pushkin Museum since 1981.
Boris Feodorovich Godunov was the de facto regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of his reign, Russia descended into the Time of Troubles.
Nadezhda Sergeyevna Alliluyeva was the second wife of Joseph Stalin. She was born in Baku to a friend of Stalin, a fellow revolutionary, and was raised in Saint Petersburg. Having known Stalin from a young age, she married him when she was 18, and they had two children. Alliluyeva worked as a secretary for Bolshevik leaders, including Vladimir Lenin and Stalin, before enrolling at the Industrial Academy in Moscow to study synthetic fibres and become an engineer. She had health issues, which had an adverse impact on her relationship with Stalin. She also suspected he was unfaithful, which led to frequent arguments with him. On several occasions, Alliluyeva reportedly contemplated leaving Stalin, and after an argument, she fatally shot herself early in the morning of 9 November 1932.
The Moscow Kremlin, also simply known as the Kremlin, is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow. It is the best known of the kremlins, and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. In addition, within the complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace that was formerly the residence of the Russian emperor in Moscow. The complex now serves as the official residence of the Russian president and as a museum with almost three million visitors in 2017. The Kremlin overlooks the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and Alexander Garden to the west.
Order No. 227 was an order issued on 28 July 1942 by Joseph Stalin, who was acting as the People's Commissar of Defence. It is known for its line "Not a step back!", which became the primary slogan of the Soviet press in summer 1942.
Sir Antony James Beevor, is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and Civil War.
Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya is a Russian writer, TV host, publicist, novelist, and essayist from the Tolstoy family.
False Dmitry I reigned as the Tsar of all Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich. According to historian Chester S. L. Dunning, Dmitry was "the only Tsar ever raised to the throne by means of a military campaign and popular uprisings".
Nadezhda Alexandrovna Teffi was a Russian humorist writer. Together with Arkady Averchenko she was one of the prominent authors of the magazine Novyi Satirikon.
Lyudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaya is a Russian writer, novelist and playwright. She began her career writing short stories and plays, which were often censored by the Soviet government, and following perestroika, published a number of well-respected works of prose.
Irina Aleksandrovna Antonova was a Soviet and Russian art historian who served as a Director of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow for 52 years, from 1961 to 2013, making her the oldest and the longest serving director of a major art museum in the world. Among her many awards and decorations are the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She was the President of the Pushkin Museum, a ceremonial post.
Joanna Bourke, is a British historian and academic. She is professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.
Pushkin House, established in 1954, is the UK's oldest independent Russian cultural centre, now based in Bloomsbury, London. It was founded by a group of émigré Russian friends, led by Maria Mikhailovna Kullmann (Zernova), with the aim of creating a welcoming meeting-place "for the enjoyment, understanding and promotion of Russian culture in all its forms, and for the exchange of views in a lively, informal atmosphere, with freedom of speech a core principle".
Mary Jean Alexandra Fulbrook, is a British academic and historian. Since 1995, she has been Professor of German History at University College London. She is a noted researcher in a wide range of fields, including religion and society in early modern Europe, the German dictatorships of the twentieth century, Europe after the Holocaust, and historiography and social theory.
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Alexander James Watson is a British historian. He is the author of three books, which focus on East-Central Europe, Germany and Britain during World War I. His most recent book, The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl was praised by The Times newspaper as a "masterpiece". His previous book, Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at War, 1914-1918, won numerous awards. Currently Watson is Professor of History at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Katherine Rundell is an English author and academic. She is the author of Rooftoppers, which in 2015 won both the overall Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, and was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal. She is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and has appeared as an expert guest on BBC Radio 4 programmes including Start the Week, Poetry Please, Seriously.... and Private Passions.
The Pushkin House Book Prize is an annual book prize, awarded to the best non-fiction writing on Russia in the English language. The prize was inaugurated in 2013. The prize amount as of 2020 has been £10,000. The advisory board for the prize is made up of Russia experts including Rodric Braithwaite, Andrew Jack, Bridget Kendall, Andrew Nurnberg, Marc Polonsky, and Douglas Smith.
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