Orlando Figes

Orlando Figes

Orlando Figes was born on November 20th, 1959 and is currently 66 years old. Orlando Figes was born in London, England. Figes attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Trinity College, Cambridge where he received a Ph.D.

Orlando Figes is a renowned writer and historian who has authored many works about European culture and Russian history. He is also a former Birkbeck College professor of History before his retirement in 2022.

In his works, he typically utilizes private family archives, testimonies, interviews, and oral history to illuminate the history of the Russian Gulag and European culture.

Outside of his scholarly work, Orlando Figes has worked in television and radio. Some notable programmes he has been involved in include The Tsar’s Last Picture Show and Red Chapters on the History of Communism, both of which were broadcast on the BBC.

In 2010, he was involved in a scandal after posting scathing reviews of the books by his colleagues under pseudonyms while praising his own. After he was sued, he admitted responsibility, made the necessary apologies, and paid damages to the authors.

One of his most popular works is Natasha’s Dance, in which he looked at the evolution of Russian culture starting in the 1700s to the Soviet period.

From the founding of St. Petersburg onward, he examines how musicians, artists, and writers struggled to define the nation's spirit and identity. Combining art with history, he connects the works of Chagall, Tolstoy, Stravinsky, and Dostoevsky with everyday customs, religion, and folk traditions.

Through everyday people and the nobles, he shows how the Russian people, diverse and vast as they were, were united by the complex, emotional, and rich Russianness that went beyond any ruler or government.

In 2012, Orlando Figes published the work Just Send Me Word, in which he told the story of two lovers who were separated by the Gulag.

Lev Mishchenko and Sveta, his lover, had persevered and survived the Nazi concentration camps only for the former to be falsely accused of treason and sent to the Gulags in 1946. Despite the challenges, they managed secret visits and sent each other more than 1500 letters over nearly a decade.

Using interviews, KGB archives, and their letters, Figes explores their world, revealing life under Stalin, which for the two lovers remained full of persistence, hope, and love despite the oppression.

In his 2022 published work, The Story of Russia, Figes looks back at a millennium of Russian history, particularly the ideology that shaped the Russian identity.

Starting from the founding of Kievan Rus to the Ukraine War by Putin, he looks at the beliefs and myths that defined the nation, its sense of victimhood, its sacred mission, faith in a paternal ruler, and autocratic traditions.

He shows how the nation often rewrites its story to match changing ideals.

Orlando Figes: Lists & Other Mentions

• A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891 - 1924 was a The Telegraph: The Perfect Library Selection in 2008.

Related Authors

Fans of Orlando Figes also enjoy these authors:

1. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale Series.
2. Barbara Kingsolver, author of: The Poisonwood Bible.
3. Paula Hawkins, author of: The Girl on the Train.
4. Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the Cemetery Of Forgotten Series.
5. Agatha Christie, author of: And Then There Were None / Ten Little Indians.

Orlando Figes: F.A.Q