Victoria Smolkin

Victoria Smolkin is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Wesleyan University, where she has served since 2010. Her scholarship critically examines the interplay of ideology, religion, and memory in Soviet and post-Soviet contexts, with particular focus on Russia and Ukraine.

Her academic credentials include:

• BA in European Literature and History from Sarah Lawrence College
• MA and PhD in History from the University of California, Berkeley

Professor Smolkin's research synthesizes Soviet history, religious studies, and memory politics across multiple projects. Her acclaimed monograph A Sacred Space Is Never Empty: A History of Soviet Atheism (2018) established foundational work on state atheism, while current projects explore Ukraine's historical memory through Kyiv's contested cemetery (The Wall of Memory) and Soviet cosmic utopianism (The World of Tomorrow). These investigations address imperialism, Holocaust memory, Cold War narratives, and the cultural dimensions of communist utopian visions, revealing how physical spaces shape ideological identity.

Her scholarly impact is recognized through:

• 2019 Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize Honorable Mention
• Alexander Piatigorsky Literary Prize longlisting (Russian translation)
• Wesleyan's Carol A. Baker ’81 Memorial Prize
• Major fellowships from Princeton University, Social Science Research Council, Fulbright-Hays, and Woodrow Wilson Center
• Institutional support from Wesleyan's College of the Environment and Center for Humanities

Professor Smolkin maintains active scholarly engagement through international lectures and symposia. While her grant portfolio demonstrates robust research support, the available text contains no details about student mentorship or dedicated research laboratories.