Nicholas Riasanovsky Obituary

Prof. Nicholas V. Riasanovsky Resident of Berkeley Historian and educator. Passed away in Oakland May 14, 2011 at the age of 87. Born in Harbin, China on Dec. 21, 1923; came to the US in 1938, naturalized 1943; B.A., U of Oregon, 1942; A.M. Harvard Univ. , 1947; D. Phil., Oxford Univ. 1949. Member of the faculty Univ. of Iowa (1949-1957), Univ. of California at Berkeley since 1957. Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of European History Emeritus. A WWII veteran, he served as 2nd Lt. in the US Army in France and the Ardennes (1943-1946); decorated with the Bronze Star. Recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a Rhodes Scholarship and grants from the Fulbright and Guggenheim Foundations, IREX and the NEH. President, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 1973-1977; elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Award for Scholarly Distinction, American Historical Association, 1994. Author of "A History of Russia," now in its 8th ed, and many other works. Survived by his wife, Arlene, ne Schlegel (married Feb. 15, 1955) of Berkeley; children John of Huntington Beach, CA, Nicholas N. of Berkeley, CA and Maria of Palo Alto, CA; daughter-in-law Leslie and grandson Nicholas J. of Huntington Beach. Panikhida Service, Thursday May 19, 2011 at 7 PM at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, 1520 Green St ., San Francisco. Funeral Service, Friday May 20, 2011 at 10 AM at the Cathedral. Interment Serbian Orthodox Cemetery, Colma. For further information please call: Harry W. Greer, Funeral Director (CA Lic. FDR 745). Santos-Robinson Mortuary San Leandro 510-483-0123 www.Santos-Robinson.com

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Published by San Francisco Chronicle from May 17 to May 18, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Nicholas Riasanovsky

5 Entries

Deena Zonligt Sortland

May 13, 2013

I am saddened at the death of Dr Riasanovsky. I was a student of his in Berkeley in the late 1950s-early 1960s. He was a wonderful teacher and opened my eyes to the fascinating history of his homeland.

spasibo....My condolences to the family he left behind

Shalom, Deena Z Sortland

Bob Lawson

May 31, 2011

I was not a brilliant student so I didn't go on to higher degrees, but I did become a high school history teacher and consider Prof. Riasanovsky the best teacher I ever had. I remember an intellectual history class taken from him and Martin Malia. Prof. Riasanovsky was looking up a specific point in response to a question. I saw he was reading from a notebook; it was his student notebook from one of his classes taken long ago from Isaiah Berlin at Oxford (or Harvard). Then once he was describing the romanticization of the "mir" which in Russia means "Peace" or "a space station" or "a collective farm." He was describing how one Slavophile writer had praised the idea of everyone living together and eating out of the same pot, etc. Dr. Riasanovsky pointed out, "I remember doing the same thing. It was in the Army. It didn't give me the same feeling as that Slavophile writer."

Walter W. Cox

May 28, 2011

Professor Riasanovsky was a trusted mentor during completion of my individual major in Soviet Studies at Berkeley, 1983-88. Along with George Breslauer, he helped me prepare an honors thesis--very generously reading it not just once, but twice. His suggestions were invariably thoughtful, helpful and kind.

My favorite times with Professor Riasanovsky were office hours. I would usually arrive with a question regarding a fine point of Russian history. His responses were never glib, and he would occasionally share with me the labors that went into writing just one sentence of his "A History of Russia." Once he consulted a multi-volume Russian encyclopedia that had belonged to his father, which occupied a prominent place on the shelves of his office.

On two occasions we visited a local coffee shop. He would never let me pay, insisting that I could do so once I had earned my doctorate.

The last time I saw Professor Riasanovsky was about two years ago when I visited the campus to talk with Professor Yuri Slezkine. Dr. Slezkine told me where I might find the good professor, and we talked one last time. He told me he was no longer teaching. He said he had become used to hearing from students that their parents had recommended his course, however when a student approached him and said her grandfather had once studied with him, he concluded it was time.

My heartfelt condolences to the family. The service at San Francisco's Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral was simple and beautiful, well-befitting this warm, generous man.

Kathleen Brush

May 20, 2011

I didn't know Nicholas Riasanovsky personally, but I have found his book the History of Russia one of the best written and researched books of all times. Page turners are rarely applied to history books. This would be an exception.

Santos-Robinson Mortuary

May 17, 2011

Offering our deepest condolences during this difficult time.

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