This public event aims to open a new conversation between historians of the USSR, of Africa, and members of the public with an interest in the Cold War.
The Soviet Union was a key actor in post-colonial Africa. From facilitating trade exchanges to training guerrilla fighters, Soviet politicians, academic specialists, and soldiers engaged with different parts of Africa throughout the Cold War.
Dr. Natalia Telepneva and Dr. Alessandro Iandolo have explored different aspects of interaction and exchange between the USSR and multiple African countries. In this event they will reflect on achievements, frustrations, and legacies over three decades of engagement. They have both pioneered multi-lingual, multi-archival historical research that explores multiple aspects of Soviet interaction and exchange with Africa during and after decolonization.
Dr. Natalia Telepneva is Lecturer in International History at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Her first book, entitled 'Cold War Liberation: The Soviet Union and the Collapse of Portuguese Empire in Africa, 1961-1975', was published by University of North Carolina Press in 2022. It examines the African revolutionaries who led armed struggles in three Portuguese colonies—Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau—and their liaisons in Moscow, Prague, East Berlin, and Sofia. She focuses on both the impact of the Soviet Union on the end of the Portuguese Empire in Africa and the effect of the anticolonial struggles on the Soviet Union, and the superpower rivalry in sub-Saharan Africa during the Cold War.
Dr. Alessandro Iandolo is Lecturer in Soviet and Post-Soviet History at University College London. His first book, entitled 'Arrested Development: The Soviet Union in Ghana, Guinea, and Mali, 1955-1968', was published by Cornell University Press in 2022. It examines the USSR's involvement in West Africa during the 1950s and 1960s as aid donor, trade partner, and political inspiration for the first post-independence governments in Ghana, Guinea, and Mali. He investigates the projects that the USSR sponsored "on the ground," and analyzes their implementation and legacy.
This event will be chaired by Professor Vladislav Zubok of International History Department at the London School of Economics and head of the Cold War Studies programme. His most recent book 'Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union' (Yale University Press, 2021) received Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History and is a finalist for Cundill History Prize. He commented on current events widely, including most recently in Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, and Engelsberg Ideas.
Following a short presentations of the books’ major themes, Telepneva and Landolo will discuss differences and similarities in their research, and will engage in a dialogue with the audience on the present and future of historical scholarship on Soviet-African relations.
How to attend:
This is a public event open to all but registration is required. Visit Eventbrite.
Attend the event online. Follow this link to register via Zoom.
Email ih.events@lse.ac.uk if you have any questions about the event.