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Russian

Gitta Hammarberg

18th and 19th Century Literature/Language

Hammarberg chairs the college's German Studies and Russian Department. She is an expert in 18th and 19th century Russian literature and in recent Slavic literary theory. She is the author of From the Idyll to the Novel: Karamzin's Sentimentalist Prose. Hammarberg is working on another book on minor literary genres and gender in late 18th century literature.

Gary Krueger

Russian/East European Economies

Economics Department

An expert on international economies, Krueger specializes in Russian and East European development issues. He is studying reforms in Russian industrial enterprises and the behavior of central planners. He recently published "Transition Strategies of Former State-Owned Firms in Russia" in Comparative Economic Studies. Krueger coordinates the college's Russian, Central and East European Studies Program.

Nikolai Petrov

Russian Politics

International Studies and Programming

Petrov is a visiting international professor from Russia. He specializes in Soviet and Russian politics including presidential and parliamentary elections. He teaches courses on the regional politics of Russia and on global cities. He is completing a book called The Political Almanac of Russia, 1997. He is also working on other publications such as The 1996 Presidential Elections in Russia and Evolution Federalism in Russia. Petrov is a senior research fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Moscow.

Jim von Geldern

Russian Culture

von Geldern serves as the college's dean of interdisciplinary programs. He is an expert on Soviet mass culture and early Soviet cinema. He has researched various aspects of popular culture ranging from books and comics to songs and movies. He has also discussed changes in the former Soviet Union on television and radio news programs. von Geldern is the author of Bolshevik Festivals, 1917-1920 and two anthologies, Mass Culture in Soviet Russia and Entertaining Tsarist Russia. He has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to produce a digital source book on Soviet history.

Peter Weisensel

Russian and German History

History Department

Weisensel specializes in modern Russian history, particularly the imperial period from the 18th century to 1917. He is the author of two monographs on Russia in the 19th century and is working on another about Russian travelers' descriptions of Central Asia and the formation of a Russian colonial mentality. In addition to Russian history, he teaches a course on modern German history. He is also interested in minorities, particularly Muslims, in Russian/Soviet history.