P.B. Umansky as a Scholar and Pedagogue: The Origins of American Studies in Kazan

Abstract

Petr Borisovich Umansky (1930–1993), a distinguished scholar and Kazan University lecturer in the latter half of the 20th century, stands out as a key figure in the Kazan school of world history and American studies in Russia. After graduating from university in 1952, he was mentored by another famous Soviet historian, G.R. Levin. In 1962, he defended his Сandidate’s dissertation titled “F. Douglas and the abolitionist movement in the United States between the 1830s and 1850s” at the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute. He later became widely recognized as the founder of the study of American historiography of the War of Independence. His works were featured in the publications of Kazan University and major central journals like “Novaya i Noveishaya Istoriya”, “Voprosy Istorii”, and “Istoriya i Istoriki”. He also actively participated in various scientific gatherings, such as the First All-Union Historiographical Conference and the First Symposium of Americanists in Moscow. At Kazan University, P.B. Umansky played a vital role in shaping the school of researchers specializing in American studies. Many of his former students now teach at his alma mater and continue to pass down their knowledge to new generations of historians. With a career spanning from the 1950s until his death, P.B. Umansky was widely hailed as one of the top international lecturers in Tatarstan. The article is supplemented with the memoirs of the historian’s son, E.P. Umansky.