Russell Zguta (born October 3, 1949) is a U.S. historian, educator, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Early life and education

Zguta is a native of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Born Jaroslav Zguta, he was given the name "Russell" upon his enrollment in first grade; it was deemed more American. He received his bachelor's degrees in history from

Saint Francis University Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated ...

in 1964, and his masters (1965) and doctorate (1967) from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

Career

Zguta's research has focused on the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

cultural history of the

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert Huds ...

(today's Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians). In 1979,

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate Motivation, motivators and Choice modelling, models. Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or arti ...

magazine included his book ''Russian Minstrels: A History of the Skomorokhi'' (1978) in its Outstanding Academic Books list for that year. His other publications include "Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century Russia" in ''

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association, for which it is an official publication. It targets readers interested in all period ...

'' (1977); "The One-Day Votive Church: A Religious Response to the Black Death in Early Russia" in ''

Slavic Review The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with "Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, past and present". ...

'' (1981); and the "Monastic Medicine in Kievan Rus' and Early Muscovy''"'' chapter in ''Medieval Russian Culture'' (1984). While at the University of Missouri, Zguta chaired multiple departments: History (1989-1991 and 2010-2013), Economics (1991-1995), and Romance Literature (2005-2008). In 1990, he received the university's Purple Chalk Award (where the winner is chosen by a student vote) "for exemplary teaching and advising". In October 2016, the Central Slavic Conference, a regional affiliate of ASEEES, presented Zguta with its presidential award for "his lifetime of support of the Central Slavic Conference and untiring promotion of Slavic studies".

Articles

* Zguta, Russell
“Skomorokhi: The Russian Minstrel-Entertainers.”
''Slavic Review'' 31, no. 2 (1972): 297–313. *Zguta, Russell
“Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century Russia.”
''The American Historical Review'' 82, no. 5 (1977): 1187–1207.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zguta, Russell Living people Russian studies scholars Soviet emigrants to the United States University of Missouri faculty Pennsylvania State University alumni Saint Francis University alumni 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 1949 births