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Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity No. 1105296 THE GREAT BRITAIN – RUSSIA SOCIETYPatron: His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO
Honorary President: Dr. Anthony Bryan Hayward (Group Chief Executive of BP plc)
Honorary Vice Presidents:
The Most Reverend & Rt.Hon. The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, FBA
Professor Geoffrey Alan Hosking, FBA, F.R..Hist.S.
Sir Roderic Lyne, KBE, CMG
The Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, KCMG QC MP,
The Rt. Hon. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, GCMG,
The Rt. Hon. Baroness Williams of Crosby
THE GREAT BRITAIN – RUSSIA SOCIETY
Summer session (May – September 2008)Six talks and a visit to the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace
On Saturday 20th September 2008, at 11a.m.Buckingham Palace. The entrance to the exhibition is via the Ambassadors’ Entrance in Buckingham Palace Road. A FIVE STAR EVENT. ***** A GROUP VISIT TO
THE STATE ROOMS of BUCKINGHAM PALACEThe nineteen State Rooms are at the heart of the Palace and provide the setting for ceremonial occasions and official entertaining. They are lavishly furnished with many of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, exquisite pieces of Sevres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. A complimentary audio tour provides a lively introduction to centuries of royal history and includes interviews with Royal Household staff about the working Palace and the works of art on display. For the first time ever at the Summer Opening of the Palace, visitors will be able to experience the spectacle of the Ballroom set up for a State Banquet. The horseshoe – shaped table traditionally used on such occasions will be dressed with a dazzling display of silver-gilt from the magnificent Grand Service, first used to celebrate the birthday of George III in 1811. Lavish buffet arrangements of jewelled cups, ivory tankards and chased dishes, sconces, shields and basins will be arranged along each side of the room. An opportunity for members to enjoy the nineteen magnificent State Rooms. Take advantage of the concessions available for a Group visit (minimum 15, no maximum). Book for as many relatives and friends as you wish. For security reasons please list the full names of all the people for whom you are booking. Adults under age 60 pay £13.95 (normally £15.50)
Adults over age 60 pay £12.60 (normally £14.00)
Children under age 17 pay £ 7.90 (normally £ 8.75) For this special occasion there is no facility to book on line. Post your cheques payable to ‘The Great Britain-Russia Society’ to D.E. Salbstein, Chairman of The Great Britain-Russia Society, c/o J. Salbstein, Brougham Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2NX. Enclose a stamped addressed envelope, so that your tickets can be posted to you on August 20th. Please list all the names of those for whom you are booking, and the individual price(s) of their respective tickets. All bookings must be received by no later than August 10th 2008.*****AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME*****
If you require confirmation of your reservations please send a stamped addressed envelope. You can contact the Chairman Daniel Salbstein by ‘phone or fax on 01903 210611 or email: j.salbstein2@ntlworld.com. Reservations for the guided tour of the State Rooms at BUCKINGHAM PALACE need to be posted separately.
THE GREAT BRITAIN – RUSSIA SOCIETY
Autumn-Winter Session (September - December 2008)Seven Star Speakers and the Christmas Party - this year with a Floor ShowTHE 7 TALKS WILL BE HELD IN PUSHKIN HOUSE, 5A BLOOMSBURY SQUARE, LONDON WC1A 2TA.The entrance to Pushkin House is on Bloomsbury WAY, virtually opposite the Swedenborg bookshop. Nearest tube stations are Holborn & Tottenham Court Road. Complimentary wine receptions from 6.30 p.m. until 7.00 p.m.Talks begin at 7.00 p.m. followed by questions. Meetings end usually at about 8.30 p.m. Pre-booked seats are held only until 7.00 p.m. unless you ‘phone Pushkin House on 020 7269 9770 before 6.50.p.m. giving the time of your delayed arrival. The Christmas Party is at the Polish Centre, Hammersmith. MRS. OLGA SELIVANOVA LEADS CONVERSATIONS IN RUSSIAN BEFORE MOST TALKS
Monday 15th September2008, at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TA 6.30pm for 7pm “KAMCHATKA: RUSSIA’S LAND OF ICE AND FIRE”MRS. DIANA GLEADHILL FRGSGuest Chairman: Mr. John Massey Stewart FRGSThis is a travelogue, illustrated with slides. Why would one go to Kamchatka? There are no luxury hotels or international spas, no cosy pubs or swanky wine bars. But there is a plethora of fish, and nowhere does one find it better cooked than on a camp fire. The scenery is stunning, yet the roads to get you there are almost non-existent. This land is not for the faint-hearted. However the country has some of the most dramatic volcanic scenery in the world and an inordinate amount of wildlife. To climb a volcano and peer down into the depths of its crater, to sit on a berry covered hill and watch reindeer floating down a valley against a backdrop of volcanoes, to go fly fishing on the Kamchatka river or to walk along the shore of Lake Kurilskoye and discover an enormous brown bear only feet away are privileges not afforded to many. Diana Gleadhill’s experiences with another Irish lady ‘d’un certain age’ draw us into this wild and fiery land. Diana Gleadhill was a professional librarian, then a graphic artist, who now dabbles with mosaics. Driven by her natural curiosity and a sense of adventure, she, with her childhood friend Elise Coburn, have explored countries as diverse as Kenya where her son has lived for 22 years, Russia several times, South America and Papua New Guinea. In 1998 they took the ‘Golden Road to Samarkand’ from Pakistan, north via the Karakorum Highway into Western China, Kyrgistan and east into Uzbekistan. Diana Gleadhill is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and lives in County Down, Ireland. AN EXPERT GUIDE TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S REMOTE OUTPOSTS.Diana Gleadhill will offer for sale copies of her recent book on Kamchatka.
Wednesday 1st October 2008, at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2TA at 6.30pm. for 7.00 pm “A MORE IMPORTANT CONNECTION THEN PEOPLE THINK:
DOSTOEVSKII AND MUSIC”PROFESSOR ARNOLD McMILLIN(a talk illustrated with Video Clips and Compact Discs)The bold quotation of the title comes from no less an authority than Dmitrii Shostakovich, one of the most literary of all Russian composers, although few people would consider Dostoevskii , whatever his other great merits, one of the most musical of writers. Indeed, the pioneer of Russian music in England Gerald Abraham wrote wryly, ‘Dostoevskii’s writings certainly do not cry out for musical treatment; nevertheless they have been given it.’ This talk will describe and discuss in layman’s language and with visual and aural illustrations a few of the eight or so Russian operas from between 1903 and 1985, some of the excellent musical scores to Russian films based on the writer’s works, as well as a sample of a brilliant song cycle by Shostakovich himself. This, like the film version of ‘A Nasty Story’, gains greatly from its musical component. Some of the great novels on the other hand like Idiot and Brothers Karamazov are more of a curiosity, the operas being alternatives rather than embellishments. This talk aims to provide an entertaining view of a wide range of Dostoevskii’s prose set to music by Russian composers. After graduating with first class honours in Russian Language and Literature (with Latin) at SSEES in 1963, and then having spent a year in Moscow, Arnold McMillin was appointed as Lecturer in Russian Language and Literature at SSEES in 1965. In 1971 he gained a doctorate in Slavonic philology, and in 1976 he was made Bowes Professor of Russian at Liverpool University. He returned to SSEES in 1987, and succeeded Richard Freeborn as Professor of Russian Literature. Professor Arnold McMillin retired in 2007. He has been President of the British Universities Association of Slavists (1984-86), and served as British representative on the International Committee of Slavists (1979-88). He is currently President of the Modern Humanities Research Association. EXPLORING LINKS BETWEEN LITERATURE & MUSIC. FASCINATING!
Monday 13th October2008 at Pushkin House Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2TA a 6.30 p.m. for 7.00 p.m. “THE IMAGE OF THE ROAD”MRS. JENNY ANTILL(a talk illustrated with slides and CDs, and with readings in English and Russian)Whether as a sign of civilisation, a symbol of a spiritual journey, or as a route to exile, imprisonment or death, the roads that cross Russia’s wide spaces have a particular resonance. In this talk, Jenny Antill considers the image of the road as presented in Russian life and culture from the early 18th century to the present day. Drawing from material from travel writing, literature, poetry and the visual arts, the talk is illustrated by numerous visual images, and some extracts from Russian prose and poetry. Some years ago Jenny Antill retired from a successful career as an investment banker in the City of London, and went on to receive a first class degree in Russian Studies from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College, London. She has made some protracted visits to Russia, having stayed in the homes of four different families. In recent years Jenny has given talks on Russian life and culture to a wide range of organisations, including the Russian Course at Essex University and the Cambridge Russian Society (CAMRUSS). A REVEALING LOOK AT A RECURRING THEME ACROSS THE ARTS.
Monday 20th October 2008 at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2TA at 6.30 p.m. for 7.00 p.m. “REVISIONIST HISTORY – A PRACTICE REVIVED?”DR. ARKADY VAKSBERG (a talk in RUSSIAN)Guest Chairman: Either Mr. JOHN ROBERTS or MR. MARTIN DEWHIRSTOver the last ninety years the Russian Federal State, with its subservient propaganda apparatus, has continuously ‘changed’ the history of that country and of the world as a whole, to make real facts and their interpretation serve internal political purposes, thereby distorting the perceptions of several generations. The short lived freedom to access archive documents and to publish objective research during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin years has been superseded by the rewriting of history under Putin – ideological dogmatism, on the pretext of fostering Russian patriotism and pride in Russia’s past. The revelations and decisions of Khrushchev at the 20th and 21st Congresses of the CPSU are seen as a slander on the glorious Soviet past. There has been a complete rethinking of the attitudes to Stalin, to the collectivisation of agriculture, to genocide within the Soviet population, to World War II, to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, to the occupation of the Baltic States, to the Yalta Agreement etc. A sinister situation – the sanitisation of Stalin! Dr. Arkady Vaksberg, a hero of our time, is a writer, world famous journalist, historian and Doctor of Law. He spent 20 years at the Moscow Bar for the defence in many trials in Soviet cities. From 1973 he became the renowned columnist for Literaturnaya Gazeta – the paper’s circulation soared to 7.5 million, due to his ‘Courtroom Sketches’. Pushing the limits of what was possible under press censorship he exposed incidences of corruption, abuses of power, suppressions of human rights, and interference with judicial independence. It was he who coined the phrase ‘law by telephone’, a term which has entered the Russian political vocabulary. He is the author of plays, film scripts, and over forty books, including The Prosecutor and his Prey – The Life of Andrei Vyshinsky, The Soviet Mafia, Stalin against the Jews, The Murder of Maxim Gorky. Some of these, like his latest book Le Laboratoire des Poisons (Paris 2008), revealing individual events of political terror in Soviet and post Soviet Russia, could be published only outside Russia. Arkady Vaksberg now resides in France. COME & WELCOME THIS WORLD RENOWNED CHAMPION OF HUMAN RIGHTS & DIGNITY! (This talk will be in RUSSIAN)
Thursday 6th November 2008, at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way WC1A 2TA at 5.45 for 6.00p.m. Complimentary Wine Reception from 5.45 p.m. until 6.00 p.m. 6.00 p.m. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGWe need a minimum of 10% of the Membership to achieve a quorumPLEASE MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO ATTEND, AND ON TIME!At 7.00 p.m. (or before, if the AGM takes less than one hour) “IS RUSSIA REALLY DIFFERENT? A STUDY OF TRUST STRUCTURES”PROFESSOR GEOFFREY HOSKING, F.B.A., F.R. Hist.S. When we compare Russia with western countries, we usually do so in terms of political and economic systems. However, underlying both is the question of whom one trusts and distrusts, and why – not in the personal sense, but as a structural feature of society. In western nation-states trust structures are complex, but they usually focus ultimately on the state: its armed forces, its social security system, its educational institutions. The state finances these benefits through taxes and by raising public loans, which are usually well subscribed: the public regards them as very safe, since they are guaranteed by elected parliaments and by the central bank under the ultimate canopy of the rule of law. That is why the nation-state has proved its resilience even in the era of globalisation. The Russian state has evolved in a different way, built not around the Russian nation as represented in Parliament, nor around the rule of law, but around two multi-ethnic empires, Tsarist and Soviet, in both of which power was mediated through powerful persons ruling over local collectives of ‘joint responsibility’. Some of the institutions, especially of the USSR, were similar to those of nation-states, but were directed and financed in a completely different way. As a result Russia’s trust structures really are different from those to which we are accustomed in the west. Those differences help to explain the extreme dislocations of the so-called ‘transition’, and the current restoration of a personalised authoritarianism. Professor Geoffrey Alan Hosking obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. Was Lecturer then Reader at Essex University (1966-1984). In 1984 he succeeded Hugh Seton-Watson as the Senior Professor of Russian History at the School of Slavonic & East European Studies (now part of University College London) – a Chair that he was to occupy with immense distinction for virtually a quarter of a century, until his official retirement at the end of 2007. Professor Hosking is one of the western world’s most outstanding historians of Russia. Exceptionally gifted, an elegant writer with a vast hinterland of Russian culture, Geoffrey Hosking is the author of some 12 major works, several of which have won international awards. These include The History of the Soviet Union (3rd edition 1992), Russia: People & Empire1552-1917 (1997), and Russia and the Russians: from Rus to the Russian Federation (2001). He delivered the Reith Lectures in 1988, and was appointed Leverhulme Personal Research Professor from 1999 until 2004. Professor Hosking enjoys the unique distinction of being the only British Russian Historian to be made an Honorary Doctor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A ‘MUST ATTEND’ LECTURE!
Thursday 20th November 2008 at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way WC1A 2TA at 6.30 pm. for 7.00 pm. “THE WHIG & THE ARISTOCRAT: THE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE 6th DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE AND TSAR NICHOLAS I”MR. IAN ROBERTSThis friendship began during the first visit of Nicholas as Grand Duke to England in 1816. This talk will deal with the main events in the friendship of two persons with very different political views, which nevertheless continued throughout their lives. This includes the Duke’s attendance at the wedding of Nicholas in St. Petersburg in 1817 and coronation in Moscow in 1826 as the British Government’s official representative. Mention will be made of the visits of other members of the Russian royal family to Chatsworth and the construction of the famous Emperor fountain, as well as the Duke’s involvement in the Tsar’s State visit to Britain in 1844. The Duke’s attitude to the Crimean War will also be considered. Finally there will be an account of the Duke’s nephew, the 2nd Earl of Granville, former Foreign Secretary and Queen Victoria’s personal representative, at the coronation of Alexander II in 1856, before the Duke’s death two years later. As an exhibitioner in Modern Languages at Cambridge in 1945 Ian Roberts specialised in Russian and German, and then Slavonic Studies including Czech and Serbo-Croat. Joined the Foreign Office in 1951, with postings in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Rwanda and Burundi, Argentina and Norway. Retired in 1984. Was awarded a grant from the Leverhulme Trust and became an Honorary Visiting Fellow at SSEES where he had learned Hungarian in 1961. Has written two books, the first about the Russian intervention in Hungary in 1849 (1990) the second the Official History of SSEES (1991) to mark the seventy fifth anniversary of The School of Slavonic & East European Studies. PERSONAL FRIENSHIPS TRANSCENDING STATE TENSIONS.
Wednesday 3rd December 2008 at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Way WC1A 2TA at 6.30pm for 7.00 pm “WAR AND PEACE”PROFESSOR DOMINIC LIEVEN, FBA In England Russia’s war with Napoleon in 1812-14 is almost always seen from the French perspective. This guarantees a very skewed view. Equally skewed however, are most Russian interpretations. All the main European countries mined the Napoleonic era for nationalist myths. So did the Russians but the strange element in Russian mythmaking was that it radically underestimated Russia’s achievement. For the Russia which triumphed in 1812-14 was a dynastic aristocratic and multi-national empire, but the triumph was exploited for Russian ethno-national myths. Though the worst distortions occurred in the Soviet era, the mythmaker in chief was Leo Tolstoy. Hence the title of this talk and Professor Lieven’s forthcoming book. Tolstoy’s novel distorts in many ways the reality of those years. For Tolstoy regards military professionalism as German nonsense, and because he sees the struggle against Napoleon as dominated by elemental forces he seriously underestimates the skill with which Russia prepared, planned and fought the campaign of 1812. Tolstoy’s novel essentially ends in Vilno in December 1812. In fact the Russian army then fought its way across Europe, reaching Paris in March 1814 after the longest campaign in European history. The Russian army fought more effectively in 1813 than in 1812. In a Europe where only 3 cities contained more than 300,000 people simply getting a large Russian army all the way to France was a great achievement. This focuses attention on the forgotten aspect of warfare – logistics – and particularly on the horse, which was the aeroplane, tank and lorry of its day. In many ways the horse is the book’s main hero. What crippled Napoleon was not his loss of men in 1812 – he put a new Grande Armee of 450,000 in the field in 1813 – but his loss of horses which were less replaceable. As important, Alexander and his advisers before June 1812 always planned for a two to three year war which would begin in Russia but would end with the Russian army pursuing Napoleon back into central Europe and mobilising a European coalition against him. One cannot understand what happened in 1812 without putting that year into a broader perspective. Dominic Christopher Bogdan Lieven, an outstanding historian, son of Prince and Princess Alexander Lieven graduated first in his year at Cambridge in 1973. Kennedy scholar at Harvard. Completed his PhD at SSEES in 1978 under Hugh Seton-Watson. Subsequently Lecturer in the Dept of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where he is now Professor of Russian Government. Has been a visiting Professor at the universities of Harvard & Tokyo. Also a Humboldt Fellow in Gottingen, Munich. He is the author of The Russian Empire & its Rivals from the 16th century to the Present, Russia and the Origins of the First World War, Russia’s Rulers under the Old Regime, The Aristocracy in Europe 1815-1914 and Nicholas II: Emperor of All the Russias. He is currently in receipt of a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship, funding his research and writing of his forthcoming book War and Peace: Russia against Napoleon 1807-1814. A HIGHLIGHT OF THE SESSION – DEFINITELY NOT TO BE MISSED!
Friday 12th December 2008 at the Lowiczanka Restaurant, 1st Floor, Polish Social & Cultural Centre (POSK), 238-246 King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 ORF. Ravenscourt Park tube station (Zone 2) is less than 2 minutes from the Restaurant. 7.00 p.m. for 7.30 p.m THE GREAT BRITAIN – RUSSIA SOCIETY’S SUPERB CHRISTMAS DINNER & PARTY – & WITH A FLOOR SHOW! A three course dinner, with waitress service, followed by the resident three man Hungarian and East European band, playing a mixture of gypsy, folk, classical, modern and popular music. There is also a dance floor. Superb home made mushroom soup, roast breast of duck with potatoes, vegetables and celeriac salad. Pancakes with Tvorog, and coffee or tea. Main course alternatives are poached salmon or spinach pancakes (if specifically pre-ordered). The price of £22 includes half a bottle of wine and service. There will also be a cash bar. **A STAR ATTRACTION THIS YEAR WILL BE THE VOLGA** ***RUSSIAN DANCERS PERFORMING RUSSIAN AND*** ***UKRAINIAN DANCES IN NATIONAL COSTUME***Atmospheric music AND DANCING, excellent food, the major social event. To avoid disappointment book early. No refunds for cancellations received after December 5th.
Tickets are not issued for meetings, but names will be put on the attendance lists on a first paid, first served basis. Members are encouraged to book places for their guests or visitors. Cancellations for credit are accepted only if received before 5.00 p.m. on the previous afternoon (‘phone Ute Chatterjee on 0788 4464 461 or email her at membership@gbrussia.org) so that those on the waiting list can be offered places. If you need confirmation of your reservations please send a stamped addressed envelope. You can contact the Chairman Daniel Salbstein c/o J. Salbstein, Brougham Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 2NX, ‘phone & fax: 01903 210611 or email him: chairman@gbrussia.org. All tickets are £5 per person per seat for everyone (except for students belonging to a corporate membership). TICKETS FOR THE CHRISTMAS PARTY ARE £22 PER PERSON (including students). BOOK EARLY, AND BOOK OFTEN!Remember, if all seats are wanted your reservation is assured only if you have prepaid.
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