Renowned historian Sheila Fitzpatrick will lecture on "Tricksters and Pretenders in Stalin's Russia" at Vassar College's Sanders Auditorium, Thursday, November 30, at 5:30 p.m. The lecture, free and open to the public, will depict daily life during one of the most frantic, desperate, and heroic periods of Soviet history.
A Bernadotte E. Schmitt Professor of Modern Russian History at the University of Chicago, Fitzpatrick has written numerous books on the subject, including most recently "Stalin's Peasants" and "Everyday Stalinism." Her work has altered the way historians view the period, by exploring the average citizen's way of life. In her lecture, she will describe how ordinary Russians in extraordinary circumstances became "Soviet con men," adopting criminal survival strategies to live in a regime that treated its citizens and their material needs with contempt.
Another book, "In the Shadow of Revolution: Life Stories of Russian Women from 1917 to the Second World War," recounts the stories of ordinary women during a times of civil war, political purges, and persecution by the secret police. The stories of their adjustment, resistance, and survival were pieced together by Fitzpatrick and co-editor Yuri Slezkine with material from émigré memoirs, oral histories, and archival documents.
For more information, call the Department of History, (845) 437-5670. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Jennings, Office of Campus Activities, (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request reasonable and appropriate accommodations for the event.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.
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