Jonathan Smele

Dr. Jonathan Smele is a Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Queen Mary University of London’s School of History, where he has taught since 1992. His research specializes in late-imperial Russian and early Soviet history, with a focus on the revolutionary period (1881–1932) and the multifaceted conflicts that shaped the Soviet Union. He has authored numerous books and articles on the Russian revolutions, civil wars, anti-Bolshevik movements, and Anglo-Soviet relations, including works such as *The “Russian” Civil Wars, 1916–1926* (2016) and *Civil War in Siberia* (1997).

Dr. Smele earned degrees from the Universities of Leeds, Glasgow, and Wales. He is a long-standing member of the Study Group on the Russian Revolution, editing its journal *Revolutionary Russia* from 2002 to 2012. His editorial roles also include co-editing *The Bloomsbury History of Modern Russia* and serving on the advisory committee for *Russia’s Great War and Revolution*.

His research explores the global context of Russia’s revolutions, emphasizing Siberia’s role, anti-Bolshevik strategies, and the interplay between political and military dynamics. Recent work includes examining counterfactual scenarios in the civil wars and analyzing the centenary historiography of the 1917 revolution.

Dr. Smele has supervised PhD students on topics such as the anti-Bolshevik underground in Russia, surveillance of revolutionary emigrants in London, and Anglo-Soviet relations in South Asia. He currently guides Katherine McElvanney’s research on female journalists during the Russian revolutions and civil wars.

His contributions extend beyond academia through public lectures on platforms like Massolit and BBC History Online, and he has published widely in journals such as *European History Quarterly* and *Slavic Review*.