Colby College history professor to give talk on Russian engineering

November 4, 2019
Paul Josephson, a history professor at Colby College, will give a talk entitled "Putin's Nostalgia for the Soviet Union."

Nostalgia for the Soviet Union.” A specialist in the history of technology and environmental history, Josephson has written several books including Red Atom: Soviet Nuclear Policy from Stalin until Today (2000); An Environmental History of Russia (2013); The Conquest of the Arctic (2014), and, most recently, “Putin’s Projects: The Russian Empire, Resources and Technology in the 21st Century” (forthcoming).   

Since first visiting the former Soviet Union in 1984, Josephson has made many trips for research and lectures where he’s visited nuclear power stations, petrochemical plants and lumber mills, and archives. 

Josephson will give a public lecture on “nostalgic engineering” in today’s Russia. His lecture will illuminate some of the reasons Russia today is making massive investments in gigantic technology and energetic projects. Some of these projects include nuclear-powered ice-breakers, hydropower stations, and waterways to transfer water and energy to China. 

The lecture will be particularly interesting for students and faculty in the geography, environmental studies and history departments. The topic of Russian nuclear and hydropower engineering is timely and of particular interest for today’s current state of affairs. 

Event Details:
The lecture will take place on November 14th in Jepson 109 at 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the event here.