THE RUSSIAN ARMY IN THE GREAT WAR: THE EASTERN FRONT, 1914-1917

DAVID STONE, PROFESSOR, STRATEGY AND POLICY, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 7:00PM | UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, HALL CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES

The Russian Army’s experience of World War I on the Eastern Front has long been overshadowed, both by the much better known war in the trenches on the Western Front, and by the subsequent development of a new Soviet Army. Understanding how the Russian Army fought in World War I not only provides us with new and valuable perspective on the First World War, but also gives us a much better sense of how and why the war shaped the Soviet Army and the new Soviet state.

Dr. David R. Stone is the author of The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917, published by the University of Kansas Press, as well as numerous other books and articles on Russian / Soviet history. He received his Ph.D from Yale University, and taught from 1999 to 2015 at Kansas State University, where he was Pickett Professor of Military History. He is currently teaching in the Strategy and Policy Department at the Naval War College in Newport, RI.

 EVERYDAY LIVES ON THE EASTERN FRONT: KU WWI LECTURE SERIES AY 2015/16

The experience of World War I, particularly on its Eastern Front, shaped the modern world in ways that many of us may not realize. The Eastern Front was where the empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottomans collided and ultimately collapsed, giving rise to new states in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. While the Western Front was defined by trench warfare, the Eastern Front was longer and often porous. It shifted back and forth across civilian populations with dramatically transformative effects, impacting lives at the everyday level. In the region, the Great War was inseparable from revolution, undermining imperial allegiances, generating social and national movements, and changing attitudes about gender and authority.

Over the course of the 2015-2016 academic year this series will bring four nationally recognized experts on WWI to Kansas to share original research on everyday life on the Eastern Front. In addition to public lectures, speakers will explore these themes in workshops with undergraduate and graduate students and members of the community.

ORGANIZERS: Nathan Wood, Associate Professor of History; Erik Scott, Assistant Professor of History; and David Stone, Professor, Strategy and Policy, U.S. Naval War College

SPONSORS: KU Common Book, Big XII Faculty Fellowship Program, Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, Center for Global & International Studies, Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures, Department of History, Dole Institute of Politics, European Studies Program, Hall Center for the Humanities, Humanities Program, Max Kade Center, Office of Graduate Military Programs, University Honors Program, University Press of Kansas.

This program is part of the University of Kansas Centennial Commemoration of World War I, coordinated by the European Studies Program. Learn more about participating units and upcoming programs at: european.ku.edu/events and kuwwi.com.

Adrienne Landry Dunavin is a member of the Kansas WWI Centennial Commemoration Committee and is the primary administrator of KansasWW1.org. She worked at the KU Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies as their Outreach Coordinator from 2010-2016. During that time she served on the KU WWI Centennial Commemoration Working Group. She continues to volunteer as a representative for CREES and KU WWI on this blog.