Georg Alexander Kornelius Erich von Rauch (1904–1991) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

historian specializing in Russia and the Baltic states. Rauch was born in Pskov, the son of Kornelius Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch, an officer in the Russian army. In 1911 the family moved to

Sangaste Sangaste ( vro, Sangastõ) is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Otepää Parish, Valga County, southern Estonia. Sangaste has a population of 228 (as of 1 January 2010). Sangaste castle Sangaste castle or manor (german: Schloss Sagnitz) traces i ...

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

. Rauch graduated from the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

with a degree in history in 1927, leaving for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1939. He joined the staff of the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

, where he taught Russian history, in 1946, becoming a professor in 1953. In 1958 he accepted an offer from the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, where he became head of the Institute on East European History. His pioneering history of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

was translated into other languages and became a standard textbook. His son was the anarchist Georg von Rauch, killed by the police in 1971.

Works

* ''Geschichte des bolschewistischen Russland'' (Wiesbaden: Rheinische Verlags-Anstalt, 1955); tr. as ''A History of Soviet Russia'' (New York: Praeger, 1957; rev. edd. 1958, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1972). * ''Die Geschichte der baltischen Staaten'' (München: Deutsche Taschenbuch Verlag, 1990); tr. as ''The Baltic States: The Years of Independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917–1940'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995).

References

1904 births 1991 deaths People from Pskov People from Pskovsky Uyezd Baltic-German people Historians of Russia 20th-century German historians German male non-fiction writers University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of the University of Kiel German military personnel of World War II {{Russia-studies-bio-stub