Russell Zguta (born October 3, 1949) is a US historian, educator, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

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

. Zguta is a native of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Born as Jaroslav Zguta, he was given the name "Russell" upon his enrollment in first grade; it was deemed more American. He received his Bachelor of Arts in History from

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

in 1964, and his Masters (1965) and Ph.D. (1967) from Pennsylvania State University. Zguta's research has focused on Middle Age and early Modern Slavic and Russian culture. In 1979,

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a give ...

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 and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...

'' (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 Russia, Central Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe. The journal's titl ...

'' (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 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): 297–31

*Zguta, Russell. “Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century Russia.” ''The American Historical Review'' 82, no. 5 (1977): 1187–120

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