Sir Bernard Pares KBE (1 March 1867 – 17 April 1949) was an English historian and diplomat. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was seconded to the Foreign Ministry in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia, where he reported political events back to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and worked in propaganda. He returned to London as professor of Russian history. He is best known for his numerous books on Russia, especially his standard textbook, ''A History of Russia'' (1926), which had highly detailed coverage of the revolutionary era. He was a very active public speaker in the 1940s in support of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Early life and family

Bernard Pares was one of ten children of the marriage between Katharine (née Back) and John Pares; he had four brothers (George (Lancelot), Norman, Basil and Howard) and five sisters (Alice, Ethel, Margaret, Constance and May). His father was the son of Thomas Pares (1790–1866), who was M.P. for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

from 1818 to 1826. His mother was the sister of Admiral Sir

George Back Admiral Sir George Back (6 November 1796 – 23 June 1878) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer of the Canadian Arctic, naturalist and artist. He was born in Stockport. Career As a boy, he went to sea as a volunteer in the frigate ...

FRS (1796–1878), the explorer and naturalist. They were a wealthy family, and he inherited a large sum that enabled him to live comfortably despite low academic salaries. Pares was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he graduated in Classics taking a third. He worked over the next ten years as a school teacher spending his vacations touring the main battlefields of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He married Margaret Ellis, daughter of Edward Austin Dixon, a dental surgeon in Colchester. They had three sons, Peter (who became a diplomat), Andrew (who became a soldier) and

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

(a historian), and two daughters, Elizabeth, who was Head of the Foreign Research and Press Service, Baltic Section at

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

during WWII and Ursula (Susan), who married Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, the landscape architect, becoming an eminent plantswoman and photographer in her own right. His niece through his brother Basil was the artist and illustrator Bip Pares.

Russia

Pares first visited Russia in 1898; at about the same time as he was appointed a

university extension Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

lecturer in Cambridge. In 1906, he attended the first

duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

at the Taurida Palace in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and took note on how little the British officers attending could understand the political situation in Russia at the time. Viewing the study of Russian as less of a scholarly pursuit than an urgent political necessity, he founded the first School of Russian Studies in Britain at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

in 1907. In 1908, Pares was promoted to Professor of Russian History, Language, and Literature at the

, which he held until 1917 when he became Professor of Russian at the university's School of Slavonic Studies. In 1909, he organised the visit to Great Britain of a delegation of the Third Duma on which occasion he was presented with a silver punch bowl and salver with eighteen goblets. Reputed to be the products of the Faberge workshop, these are currently on display in the foyer of the

School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a University College London#Faculties and departments, school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and South-Easte ...

building at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

World War I

With the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Pares was appointed official observer to the Russian army and later seconded to the staff of the British Embassy in Petrograd. Pares set his hopes for Russia with the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

and, after the

Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

, moved to Siberia to support

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

's army where he gave frequent lectures to the

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

troops. He was awarded a KBE for his services to British relations with Russia in 1919, but until 1935 he was banned by the new

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

from re-entering Russia.

Later life

Pares was not so much a scholar, but proved an organizer and public speaker — skills he put to use after 1919 when he moved to the recently founded School of Slavonic and East European Studies, then a part of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

.Karl Showler
"Galton, Dorothy Constance (1901–1992)"
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Online edition. Retrieved 19 January 2016. He became Professor of Russian Language, Literature and History, editor of the '' Slavonic Review'' (later ''Slavonic and East European Review'') and Director of the School. As Director, Pares successfully negotiated the School's re-establishment as an independent institute of the University and its move to the North Wing of the University's new Senate House in Bloomsbury. Pares continued to write on Russian history and literature, publishing most notably his ''History of Russia'' (1926 and subsequent editions). In 1939, Pares retired as Director, subsequently acting as an adviser to the wartime government on Russian affairs, taking a favourable attitude toward Stalin, while deploring some of his excesses. He was very active in public speeches across Britain on behalf of the Soviet alliance with Britain in opposition to Nazi Germany.Richard Pares, "Preface," in B. Pares, ''History of Russia'' (1959) He moved to New York in 1942 where, shortly after completing his autobiography, he died.

Legacy

In 2008, the established chair of Russian history at the (now) UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies was renamed the Sir Bernard Pares Chair in Russian History. The established chair had, after Pares, been held by Hugh Seton-Watson and

Geoffrey Hosking Geoffrey Alan Hosking (born 28 April 1942) is a British historian of Russia and the Soviet Union and formerly Leverhulme Research Professor of Russian History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) at University College, Lon ...

. The first holder of the reinaugurated and newly named chair is Professor Simon Dixon, formerly of the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

Notes

Published works

*''Russia and Reform'', London: Constable, 1907
from Archive.org
*''Day by Day with the Russian Army, 1914–15'', London: Constable, 1915
from Archive.org
*''The League of Nations and Other Questions of Peace'', London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919. *''A History of Russia'', New York: Alfred Knopf, 1926. *''My Russian Memoirs'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1931. *
Moscow Admits a Critic
', London and New York: T. Nelson, 1936. *''The Fall of the Russian Monarchy'', London: Jonathan Cape; New York: Alfred Knopf, 1939. *
Russia and the Peace
', New York: Macmillan, 1945. *''A Wandering Student'', Ithaca, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1948.

References

External links

Author and Bookinfo.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pares, Bernard 1867 births 1949 deaths People from the Borough of Guildford People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Liverpool Academics of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies English historians Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Writers about Russia People of the Russian Civil War