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Event

James H. Billington Lecture | The Art of Soviet Statistics

Date & Time

Wednesday
Nov. 30, 2022
1:00pm – 2:00pm ET

Location

Online Only

Overview

Guests must register via Zoom in order to receive the webinar info.

Data visualization—such as charts, graphs, and infographics—can serve a democratizing purpose, yet it can just as easily be used to obscure and to mislead. Join us for the annual James H. Billington lecture by 2021-2022 Billington Fellow Katherine Zubovich, where she will discuss how Soviet artists and economists created numerical graphics in the 1930s to communicate the goals and results of the country’s first Five-Year Plans to a mass audience. Focusing on the history of the USSR’s Institute of Pictorial Statistics, founded in Moscow in 1931, the talk will survey the books, posters, billboards, and pamphlets produced by the institute during the tumultuous 1930s.

The James H. Billington Fellowship was established in 2016 in tribute to the co-founder of the Kennan Institute, former Director of the Wilson Center, and former Librarian of Congress. Dr. Billington made enduring contributions to the field of Russian Studies, and in our nation’s ability to understand and maintain bridges of dialogue with the Russian people.


Hosted By

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more

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