History Professor Edits Professional Tribute
Posted on Friday, October 15, 2010
Dr. Russell Martin, Westminster College professor of history, is guest editor of the journal Russian History's Festschrift (professional tribute) to Dr. Orysia Karapinka, Martin's undergraduate professor and adviser.
The Festschrift, "Ad Fontes" (Latin for "to the sources"), includes articles by Karapinka's former students and current colleagues, each offering a work in their respective area of expertise. They are assembled into the two-volume tribute as a way of expressing thanks and esteem for Karapinka's work as associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh over more than 40 years.
"As one of Karapinka's students, I'm especially pleased and deeply honored to have this chance to thank her in the best way professors can express their gratitude," Martin said. "Festschriften are rare these days and few professors receive them. I'm thrilled that the journal accepted my proposal to publish one in her honor. I very much owe where I am today to her guidance."
The first volume is devoted to the history of medieval and imperial Russia and includes two contributions from Martin: a general introduction with a brief biographical sketch and a survey of articles; and the article "'For the Firm Maintenance of the Dignity and Tranquility of the Imperial Family': Law and Familial Order in the Romanov Dynasty."
The article is a study of the Fundamental Laws of Russia issued in 1832 with special emphasis on the provisions for the succession to the Russian Imperial throne.
Martin's work as lead translator (Russian to English) for the Russian Imperial House's website has given him access to and familiarity with the documents issued by the Imperial family in the 19th and 20th centuries and access to documents produced and issued by the current head of the Imperial House, Her Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. Much of that material is used in the article to show how the Romanov dynasty was organized by the Fundamental Laws and how these laws are still operative today, even as the Imperial family lives outside of Russia.
Martin, who has been with Westminster since 1996, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Martin appeared on A&E Biography in a broadcast on Ivan the Terrible as an expert on the controversial ruler. He is the co-founder of the Muscovite Biographical Database, a Russian-American computerized register based in Moscow of early modern Russian notables. The Neville Island, Pa., native is not only fluent in Russian, but also reads Old Church Slavonic/Russian, French, German, Latin, and Polish.
Martin continues to translate from Russian to English the official Webpage of Her Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, the heiress to the vacant Russian throne. Translations are available at www.imperialhouse.ru. In 2008, Martin was awarded the Order of St. Anna (with the rank of Knight Companion) by the grand duchess for his work on behalf of the House of Romanov.
Contact Martin at (724) 946-6254 or e-mail martinre@westminster.edu for additional information.
More Stories
