Marina Goussev

Please tell us about your research project.

I am a first-year PhD student in Slavonic Studies (Sorbonne University/University of Strasbourg). My thesis focuses on Soviet representations of the liberation of Nazi camps by the Red Army (1942-1991). By analysing sources produced by various actors (Soviet war correspondents, political and military authorities, investigators, eyewitnesses, and historians), I aim to investigate how this event was understood and portrayed by contemporaries and how it was later remembered in the USSR.

I started researching this topic during my Master’s degree at the University of Oxford (MSc in Russian and East European Studies, 2020-2021) after noticing that this event was mostly absent from the Russian myth of the Great Patriotic War — which seems quite surprising if one takes into account the fact that the Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau and the main extermination camps.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?

I received a Monthly Scholarship to conduct research in Oxford during January 2024. In addition to meeting with renowned researchers from my field, I plan to spend my time here perusing the Bodleian Library’s rich collections of digitalised and hard-copy Soviet press archives.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

As I completed my Master’s degree during the COVID pandemic, I am now finally discovering Oxford in all of its glory, with its numerous scientific and cultural events, its unique traditions and bustling student life. I am delighted to be back and very grateful to the MFO for giving me this opportunity. The University’s facilities, including its numerous libraries, study rooms, and general scholarly atmosphere, make it a wonderful place to conduct research, while the city offers an unparalleled quality of life.