The Soviet Union in Retrospect. Life and Death of a Superpower

The ANU School of History is pleased to host the 2022 Allan Martin Lecture with keynote speaker Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick.

A century after the Soviet Union’s unexpected arrival in the world, and 30 years after its unexpected departure, it’s time to look back on this remarkable episode of twentieth-century history and ask what it all meant – for Russia, its neighbours and the world.

Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick is a social and cultural historian of Russia, principally in the Soviet era, in the Research Centre for Refugees, Migration, and Humanitarian Studies, Australian Catholic University. The author, co-author, and editor of twenty-five books, her most recent monograph is 'The Shortest History of the Soviet Union' (2022), published by Black Inc. Fitzpatrick earned her B.A. from the University of Melbourne (1961) and her doctorate from St. Antony’s College, Oxford in 1969. For several decades, she was Professor of History at the University of Chicago, where she remains a distinguished Professor Emerita of Russian history. Among her many awards was the 2016 Prime Minister’s Prize for Non-Fiction for 'On Stalin’s Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics' (2015). Since returning to Australia in 2012, her research has turned to issues of war, displacement, and emigration.

Professor Fitzpatrick's presentation will be followed by refreshments in the Coombs Extension at 8:00pm.

View more information about the Allan Martin Lecture Series here. To watch the video of this lecture, please click here.

Please note, masks are still required on ANU campuses. For further information on the University's COVID-19 advice see here.