Catriona Helen Moncrieff Kelly, FBA (born 6 October 1959) is a British academic specialising in

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

. From 1996 to 2021, she was Professor of Russian at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and a Fellow of New College. In 2021, she was elected senior research fellow of

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 ...

and honorary professor of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Catriona Kelly was brought up in

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 ...

. Her parents were pianist Alexander Kelly and cellist Margaret Moncrieff. Her sister is the cellist Alison Moncrieff-Kelly and she is married to neuroscientist Professor Ian Thompson. Her grandfather was Alexander Moncrieff and Hope Mirlees was her mother's first cousin. She was educated at the school in London run by the

Congregation of Our Lady of Sion The Congregation of Our Lady of Sion (, abbreviated NDS) is composed of two religious congregations in the Roman Catholic Church founded in Paris, France. One is composed of priests and religious brothers, founded in 1852, and the other is compose ...

(1969–1970) and at Godolphin and Latymer School (1970–1977). After spending six months living in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, she read Russian and German at the University of Oxford, including a year (1980–1981) as a visiting student at

Voronezh State University Voronezh State University (, ВГУ; VSU) is one of the main universities in Central Russia, located in the city of Voronezh. The university was established in 1918 by professors evacuated from the University of Tartu in Estonia. The university ...

, USSR, sponsored by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

. She went on to complete a doctorate on the Russian poet

Innokenty Annensky Innokenty Fyodorovich Annensky ( rus, Инноке́нтий Фёдорович А́нненский, p=ɪnɐˈkʲenʲtʲɪj ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ ˈanʲɪnskʲɪj, a=Innokyentiy Fyodorovich Annyenskiy.ru.vorb.oga; (1 September O.S. 20 August">Ol ...

at Oxford (1985). She was a senior scholar and junior research fellow at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

(1983–1993) and then lecturer in Russian at 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 ...

(1993–1996), before taking up her position at the

and New College. Kelly is the author of many books about Russian history and culture, including ''Petrushka, the Russian Carnival Puppet Theatre'' (Cambridge University Press, 1990), ''A History of Russian Women's Writing'' (Oxford University Press, 1994), ''Refining Russia: Advice Literature, Polite Culture, and Gender from Catherine to Yeltsin'' (Oxford University Press, 2001), ''Russian Literature, A Very Short Introduction'' (Oxford University Press, 2001), ''Comrade Pavlik: The Rise and Fall of a Soviet Boy Hero'' (Granta Books, 2005/Moscow, 2009), a study of the boy hero

Pavlik Morozov Pavel Trofimovich Morozov (; 14 November 1918 – 3 September 1932), better known by the diminutive Pavlik, was a Soviet Union, Soviet youth praised by the Soviet press as a martyr. Evidence has emerged since the dissolution of the Sovie ...

, ''St Petersburg: Shadows of the Past'' (Yale University Press, 2014), ''Socialist Churches: Radical Secularization and the Preservation of the Past in Petrograd and Leningrad, 1918-1988'', ''Soviet Art House: Lenfilm Studio under Brezhnev'' (Oxford University Press, 2021), and articles for professional journals and for the general press. She is the editor of ''Utopias: Russian Modernism, 1905-1940'' (Penguin, 1999) and (with Stephen Lovell) of ''Russian Modernism and the Visual Arts'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000). In 2015, Catriona Kelly was president of the

Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, the first person working at a university outside the United States to be appointed to this position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Catriona 1959 births Living people Writers from London Academics from London Academics of the University of Oxford 20th-century British historians Fellows of New College, Oxford Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy British women historians Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Voronezh State University alumni Academics of University College London 20th-century British writers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British writers 21st-century British women writers 21st-century British historians