Ken Slepyan

Ken Slepyan is a Professor of History at Transylvania University, with affiliations to the departments of History, International Affairs, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. He specializes in Soviet and Russian history, Modern European history, the Holocaust, and the intersection of war and society. His teaching emphasizes critical thinking, empathy, and the evaluation of historical evidence.

Dr. Slepyan holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan (1994), along with an M.A. (1991) and B.A. from Williams College (1987). His research focuses on reconstructing marginalized historical perspectives, particularly through underutilized archives such as baptism records and wills. Notably, he gained early access to Soviet archives post-1991, informing his seminal work Stalin’s Guerrillas.

He has received the Bingham Award for Excellence in Teaching (Transylvania University) and was a Charles Revson Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. His grants include support from the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (2001–2003). Slepyan collaborates with his spouse, Karen Petrone (University of Kentucky), on projects like their co-edited book The Soviet Union, 1939–2000: A History in Documents.

A dedicated educator, Slepyan integrates his research into the classroom, encouraging students to analyze evidence reflectively. His work highlights the complexities of historical interpretation, including the challenges of understanding perspectives like Nazi leadership or Stalin’s strategic decisions.