1940–
The historian who argued the USSR built nations, not destroyed them, the 'revenge of the past' thesis
In sixth grade I gave a report on how the Soviet Union had defeated fascism and built cities the size of San Francisco since the war. My teacher blanched. From that day until I graduated, I was known as Comrade Suny.
An Armenian-American historian who transformed the paradigm of Soviet nationalities studies. In his 1993 book The Revenge of the Past, he overturned the Cold War consensus that the Soviet system repressed and Russified nationalities, arguing instead that Soviet nationality policy, through territorial demarcation, language codification, and ethnic bureaucracies, institutionalized and built national identities, ultimately creating the very nations that would destroy the Union. This 'revenge of the past' thesis became the dominant paradigm in post-Soviet nationalities research. He is also noted for major studies of each South Caucasus nation and won the Deutscher Memorial Prize for his 2020 biography of Stalin.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1968–1981Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor of History, Oberlin College
- 1981–1995Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History, University of Michigan
- 1995–2005Professor of Political Science and History, University of Chicago
- 2005President, AAASS
- 2005–2015Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Political History, University of Michigan
- 2015–2022William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History, University of Michigan
- 1993Published The Revenge of the Past, transforming the paradigm of Soviet nationalities studies
- 2021Deutscher Memorial Prize for Stalin: Passage to Revolution
Related historical events
- 1922.12Formation of the USSRKey proponent of the empire of nations interpretationHe overturned the Cold War notion that the USSR destroyed nations, arguing Soviet policy actually created them.
- 1988–1991The Nationalities Crisis and the Collapse of Central Authorityreinterpreter of Soviet nationalities policyIn his 1993 book The Revenge of the Past, he argued that the USSR's own institution-building created the nations that ultimately destroyed it, a concept central to the closing historiographical section.
- 1991The August Coup and the Collapse of the USSRscholar who explained collapse structurallyHe argued that Soviet nationality policy created the nations that ultimately destroyed the union.