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Westminster History Professor's Translations Published

Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2003

Dr. Russell Martin, associate professor of history at Westminster College, recently edited a special edition of the journal of Russian Studies in History.  The special issue is titled "Death and Commemoration in Muscovy."

 "I wrote the general introduction to the volume, which is followed by four translations of articles of Russian scholars, all friends and colleagues of mine," said Martin.  "I'm thrilled, as always, to have the publication, but I'm especially thrilled this time because I've included an article by Professor V. Dergachev, who died recently.  In addition to being a good friend and colleague, he is the father of modern study of death in Russia.  It is, in some ways, a tribute to him that this volume appears."

 Martin will give a paper in two panels at the Medieval Academy, hosted by the University of Michigan, in May.

 "The paper is on bride shows in Muscovy and Byzantium, focusing on the problem of cultural connections between these two civilizations," continued Martin.

Martin appeared on A&E Biography in a broadcast on Ivan the Terrible as an expert on the controversial ruler, and has been an expert witness in a Canadian civil trial about the Russian royal family.  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, who has been with Westminster College since 1996, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

For more information, contact Martin at (724) 946-7246 or e-mail martinre@westminster.edu.