Professional Affiliation

Professor of Modern History, University of Cincinnati; Research Professor, Higher School of Economics, Moscow

Expert Bio

Willard Sunderland's principal research interests are in the history of the Russian Empire in the modern period. Over his career, he has lived and traveled extensively in the Russian Federation and the other states of the former Soviet Union. His most recent monograph, The Baron's Cloak: A History of the Russian Empire in War and Revolution (Cornell, 2014) won several national awards. He currently directs the international research laboratory “Russia’s Regions in Historical Perspective” at the School of Higher Economics in Moscow and serves as co-editor of the journal Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History.

Wilson Center Project

Russia and the World in the Age of Peter the Great

Project Summary

By the middle of the 18th century, Russia became a player on the world stage in a way that it had never been before and has remained ever since. This project focuses on the period of Peter the Great to explain this momentous transformation, examining the institutions and practices that were critical to Russia's emergence as a power with global ambitions.

Major Publications

The Baron’s Cloak: A History of the Russian Empire in War and Revolution (Cornell University Press, 2014)

People of Empire: Lives of Culture and Power in Russian Eurasia, 1500-Present (Co-edited with Stephen Norris) (Indiana University Press, 2012)

Taming the Wild Field: Colonization and Empire on the Russian Steppe (Cornell University Press, 2004)

Previous Terms

Short-Term Grant, Kennan Institute, "Colonization in the Russian Empire, 1800-1914" (July 1, 1996 - Aug 1, 1996) Research Grant, Kennan Institute, "Steppe-Building: Colonization and Empire in the Russian South, 1764-1850" (Sep 1, 2000 - May 1, 2001) "The Tsar's Last Imperialist: The Outrageous Life of Baron von Ungern-Sternberg"