Aaron Retish

Aaron Retish is a Professor of Russian History at Wayne State University’s Department of History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. His research focuses on late Imperial and Soviet history, particularly legal culture, peasant studies, and penal systems. Retish is chair of the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), a human rights nonprofit, and associate editor of its journal The Volunteer. He teaches courses on Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet history, as well as world and European history.

Retish earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University (2003), M.A. (1996), and B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1992). His major works include Russia’s Peasants in Revolution and Civil War (2008) and Global Impact of the Russian Revolution (2020). His current projects examine Soviet rural courts and prison history, supported by grants from the NEH and Guggenheim Foundation.

Retish has received over 20 awards, including the Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award (2009) and Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award (2008). His research emphasizes legal systems, peasant agency, and penal reform in transformative historical periods.