Andy Willimott wins Alexander Nove Prize for 'Living the Revolution'

BASEES is delighted to announce that the Alexander Nove Prize, 2016, to be awarded at the 2018 Annual Conference, will go to Andy Willimott (University of Reading) for Living the Revolution: Urban Communes and Soviet Socialism, 1917- 1932 (Oxford University Press, 2016) The jury's citation:

In Living the Revolution, Andy Willimott takes an almost entirely unknown topic and makes it his own, turning what could have been a traditional ‘thesis book’ into something of real lasting value. This fine, energetic piece of scholarship offers a genuinely new perspective on the revolutionary developments of the 1920s by making a compelling case for the importance of the much neglected urban commune movement. It strikes a convincing balance between stressing the agency of the commune activists – aptly characterized as ‘those who tried to be the change they wanted to see in the world’ - and the increasing control imposed by the party-state. Willimott’s impressive command of his sources enables him to expand the scope of his conclusions beyond his field of specialism and to make a major contribution to revitalising the study of early Soviet Russia. He is a worthy winner of this year’s Nove Prize.

Jury: (Prof. Stephen Hutchings, University of Manchester and Prof. Peter Waldron, University of East Anglia, Advisor: Prof. Stephen Smith, University of Oxford)

The Alexander Nove Prize for scholarly work of high quality in Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet studies was established by decision of the annual general meeting of the Association in March 1995 in recognition of the outstanding contribution to its field of study made by the late Alexander Nove.