Prof Polly Jones Lecture

On Monday 20th January, the Headington Rye History Society was delighted to welcome Professor Polly Jones, who gave a riveting talk on ‘Remembering and Rethinking Stalinism in the Soviet Union and Russia today’.

The talk provided great insight into the legacy that Stalin left and particularly how later Russian leaders constantly re-invented Stalinism for the benefit of their own political messages.

Prof Jones gave a nuanced perspective of the different narratives that have been propagated about Stalinism from his death until the present day.

She finished by stressing the uncertainty of how the Soviet Past will be presented in Russia’s future. She gave the particularly striking example of the recent closure of the Gulag History Museum in Moscow, which has caused fears about governmental attempts to erase the brutalities of Stalin’s Great Terror.

After the talk, Professor Jones answered questions students had on this historical period, as well as sharing her recently published book ‘Gulag Fiction: Labour Camp Literature from Stalin to Putin’.

Zara, Year 13 History and Politics student, said she found the lecture “fascinating, giving an excellent overview of a politically charged aspect of history which I found deeply relevant to today’s geopolitical climate.”

Many thanks go to Prof Jones for such a fascinating talk.

– Florence, Year 13 History Ambassador