Events

The SCRSS organises a regular programme of lectures, film shows, exhibitions, seminars and other events at its premises in London. The Society is also involved in educational and commemorative events associated with the Soviet War Memorial in London. Events are open to both SCRSS members and non-members, unless otherwise stated.

Please note: dogs are not permitted on SCRSS premises, with the exception of guide dogs.

Venue and Tickets

Most events take place at the SCRSS. Evening events normally start at 19.00, with tea and coffee served from 18.30.

Lecture and film tickets cost £3.00 (SCRSS members) and £5.00 (non-members), unless otherwise stated. For all other events, please see individual listings below. Please note: tickets are payable by cash only on the door (unfortunately, we are unable to accept debit or credit cards).

2018 Events Diary

January	July
February	August
March	September
April	October
May	November
June	December

January 2018

Thursday 18 January - Thursday 22 March 2018, 18.00 - 20.00
Evening Class: Russian Language for Intermediate Level (Term 2)

The course is led by Christine Barnard, former lecturer in Russian at the University of Westminster. Term 2 lasts 10 weeks. Maximum 10 students.

Fees: £40 per term (SCRSS members), £60 per term (non-members). Full fee payable at start of term by cash or cheque only.

Friday 26 January 2018, 11.00
Event: Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial, London

Due to Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) falling on a Saturday in 2018, the ceremony will take place on Friday 26 January.

HMD marks the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps by the Soviet Red Army in 1945. This event is organised by the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund (SMTF), Southwark Council and the Imperial War Museum (IWM). The commemoration begins with a brief (approximately 20 minutes) wreath-laying ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial Tree and Soviet War Memorial which stand together in the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, adjacent to the IWM in the London Borough of Southwark. Afterwards, attendees proceed inside the IWM for the contination of the event in the Cinema. Attendees at the indoor element of the event are invited to view the IWM's Holocaust Exhibition after the ceremony concludes.

Please note:

If you wish to lay a wreath at the Soviet War Memorial on behalf of an organisation or will be carrying a standard, please email the SMTF on smtf@hotmail.co.uk by noon on Thursday 25 January.
Due to seating limitations, if you wish to attend the ceremony inside the IWM, please contact the Mayor of Southwark's Office as soon as possible by telephone on 020-7525- 7303 or email on mayors.office@southwark.gov.uk.

10.50: Gather at the entrance to Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park (in front of the IWM main entrance and near the park cafe).
11.00: Wreath-laying ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial and Southwark Council's Holocaust Memorial Tree. Note: no seating is provided outdoors.
11.45: Indoor ceremony begins, hosted by the Mayor of Southwark, in the Cinema of the IWM.
12.50: Indoor ceremony ends.

The Soviet War Memorial was unveiled in 1999 on the initiative of the SCRSS and the Society has been supporting the work of the SMTF since its foundation. The SMTF organises three main ceremonies at the Memorial each year to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (January); Victory Day (9 May) and Remembrance Sunday (November).

February 2018

Saturday 10 February 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library. SCRSS members only.

March 2018

Saturday 3 March 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display at this event. The exhibition had a highly-successful run at the North Wall Gallery in Oxford in November 2017. It includes over 80 exhibits (photos, posters and objects) drawn from the archives of the SCRSS.

April 2018

Saturday 7 April 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library. Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

Free admission to exhibition for SCRSS members and non-members.

Thursday 19 April - Thursday 14 June 2018, 18.00 - 20.00
Evening Class: Russian Language for Intermediate Level (Term 3)

The course is led by Christine Barnard, former lecturer in Russian at the University of Westminster. Term 3 lasts 9 weeks. Maximum 10 students.

Fees: £40 per term (SCRSS members), £60 per term (non-members). Full fee payable at start of term by cash or cheque only.

Saturday 21 - Sunday 22 April 2018, 10.00 - 16.20 daily
Event: 10th SCRSS Russian Language Seminar 2018

Our popular two-day seminar offers an intensive and stimulating lecture programme in Russian, aimed at teachers, translators and interpreters of Russian, and all those with an advanced-level comprehension of spoken Russian and an interest in contemporary Russia. The seminar offers two parallel streams, led by speakers direct from St Petersburg, Russia:

Russian Language and Linguistics: Tatiana Piotrovskaya, Senior Lecturer, Department of English Philology and Language Culture Studies, Faculty of Philology, St Petersburg State University.
Contemporary Russian Culture: Dr Natalia Bogoliubova, Associate Professor, Department of International Cultural and Humanitarian Co-operation, Faculty of International Relations, St Petersburg State University.

View full seminar details: lecturer biographies, lecture programme, fees, terms and conditions, and how to book.

May 2018

Saturday 5 May 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library. Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

Free admission to exhibition for SCRSS members and non-members.

Wednesday 9 May 2018, 11.00
Event: Victory Day Act of Remembrance at the Soviet War Memorial, London

This year's event marks the 73rd anniversary of the Allied Victory in the World War II. For more information, please email the Honorary Secretary of the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund (SMTF) on smtf@hotmail.co.uk.

The Soviet War Memorial is located in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, adjacent to the Imperial War Museum in London. The Soviet War Memorial was unveiled in 1999 on the initiative of the SCRSS and the Society has been supporting the work of the SMTF since its foundation. The SMTF organises three main ceremonies at the Memorial each year to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (January); Victory Day (9 May) and Remembrance Sunday (November).

Saturday 19 May 2018, 11.00 - 13.00
Event: SCRSS Annual General Meeting

The AGM is held at the Society’s premises. Members will have the opportunity to hear about the latest proposals for our library collections, discuss the Annual Report & Accounts, elect members to the SCRSS Council, etc. The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display at this event.

Note: The AGM is open to SCRSS members only. If you plan to attend, please make sure that your membership subscription is up to date. Renewal notices are always enclosed with SCRSS Digest mailings but if you are in doubt about your membership status, please contact the SCRSS in advance of the AGM to check and renew, as needed.

Note: members who attend the AGM have free entry to the filmshow at 14.00.

Saturday 19 May 2018, 14.00
Filmshow: Red October: Revolution in Russia (Platform Films, 2018, 68 mins)

Red October is a new documentary film marking last year's centenary of the Russian Revolution, directed and produced by Chris Reeves. The film is narrated by the actress Maxine Peake and explores the history of the revolution, its impact in Britain, cultural legacy and worldwide reach. It includes contributions from leading historians, labour movement figures and international perspectives. The documentary film came out of last November's Russian Revolution Centenary Conference, organised by the SCRSS and the Marx Memorial Library (MML). It uses striking visual resources from the archives of the SCRSS, MML and the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick, and includes interviews with many of the speakers at last year's conference.

The screening is open to both SCRSS members and non-members. SCRSS members who attend the earlier AGM have free entry to the filmshow. Otherwise normal admission fees apply: SCRSS members £3.00 / non-members £5.00. Tickets are payable by cash only on the door (unfortunately, we're unable to accept debit or credit cards). As space is limited, we recommend that you contact the SCRSS in advance to reserve a place - reservations take priority if capacity is reached. The filmshow starts promptly at 14.00, so please arrive in good time.

Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

June 2018

Saturday 2 June 2018, 11.00 - 14.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display at this event until the talk starts at 14.00. The exhibition had a highly-successful run at the North Wall Gallery in Oxford in November 2017. It includes over 80 exhibits (photos, posters and objects) drawn from the archives of the SCRSS. The exhibition is open to both SCRSS members and non-members, free admission.

Saturday 2 June, 14.00
Talk: Dr Kate Hudson on Russia and the New Cold War

In her talk Kate Hudson explores the current stand-off between Russia and NATO / the USA, as well as looking back at the history of relations between the USSR and the West, and the period since the collapse of the USSR in 1992. Kate Hudson has been General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) since September 2010 and is a leading anti-nuclear and anti-war campaigner, both nationally and internationally. She is the author of CND Now More than Ever: The Story of a Peace Movement (2005) and CND at 60: Britain's Most Enduring Mass Movement (2018). Kate Hudson is also a Vice-President of the SCRSS.

The talk is open to both SCRSS members and non-members. Normal entrance fees apply: SCRSS members £3.00 / non-members £5.00. Pay cash on entry. Tickets are payable by cash only on the door (unfortunately, we're unable to accept debit or credit cards). As space is limited, we recommend that you contact the SCRSS in advance to reserve a place - reservations take priority if capacity is reached. The talk starts promptly at 14.00, so please arrive in good time.

Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

July 2018

Saturday 7 July 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display. The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.

Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

August 2018

Saturday 4 August 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display. The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.

Please note: at this event we will be selling our new SCRSS mugs for 2018, featuring five new designs - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

September 2018

Saturday 1 September 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display. The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

Thursday 20 September - Thursday 6 December 2018, 18.00 - 20.00
Evening Class: Russian Language for Intermediate Level (Term 1 - Autumn)
The course is led by Christine Barnard, former lecturer in Russian at the University of Westminster. Term 1 lasts 10 weeks (with 2-week break on 11 and 18 October). Maximum 10 students.

Fees: £40 per term (SCRSS members), £60 per term (non-members). Full fee payable at start of term by cash or cheque only.

October 2018

Saturday 6 October 2018, 11.00 - 14.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members and Exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

The SCRSS's exhibition Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution will also be on display. The exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

Saturday 6 October 2018, 14.00
Talk: Andrew Jameson on The Horrible History of Russian!

A linguist looks at what the Russian language can tell us about Russian history and the Russian character. Who were the early Slavs? Why is Russian so influenced by oriental languages? Who actually were the 'Rus'? A popular-science talk for historians and linguists, with copious illustrations and a huge handout.

Andrew Jameson follows in the footsteps of his Russian professor Boris Unbegaun who made a lifelong study of the interaction between language and society. Andrew Jameson learnt Russian in the Forces and worked in Berlin as a radio monitor. After Oxford he worked on fieldwork for the Nuffield Russian Project, spending six months at Moscow University, incidentally getting to know some well-known dissidents of the time. He taught Russian language and culture at Portsmouth and Lancaster universities, and organised many popular residential courses for adults at Knuston Hall, Alston Hall, Essex, UEA and Lancaster. His particular interests are the Russian avant-garde in its various manifestations, and the cultural history of the Russian language. Since retirement he has often lectured in St Petersburg, Moscow and Khabarovsk. He now works as a professional translator.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

The talk is open to both SCRSS members and non-members. Normal admission fees apply: SCRSS members £3.00 / non-members £5.00. Tickets are payable by cash only on the door (unfortunately, we're unable to accept debit or credit cards). As space is limited, we recommend that you contact the SCRSS in advance to reserve a place - reservations take priority if capacity is reached. The event starts promptly at 14.00, so please arrive in good time.

Friday 19 October, 2018, 19.00
Talk: Professor Bill Bowring on Russia's Criminal Justice System – from Tsar Alexander II to President Putin

From 2000 to 2003 President Putin presided over dramatic reforms of the legal and judicial systems of Russia. He spoke of "dictatorship of law" and even cited the great 19th-century reforming judge AF Koni. Bill Bowring participated in this process: he is one of the authors of Russia's Criminal Procedural Code (UPK) which came into force in 2002. As one of three Council of Europe experts, he worked with Dmitry Kozak (again Deputy Prime Minister), Yelena Mizulina from the Duma, Judge Radchenko from the Supreme Court, and Vladimir Schultz, then Deputy Director of the FSB. The Prokuratura refused to take part. The new Code (re)introduced adversariality into criminal proceedings, gave the judge control over bail or custody pending trial, obliged the prosecutor to attend the trial rather than expecting the judge to present the case against the accused - and many other changes, including laying the basis for jury trial. In many ways these reforms restored the Great Legal Reforms of Alexander II in 1864. This reform period came to an end in late 2003 with the expropriation of YUKOS and the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In December 2008 President Medvedev was able to complain that "Russia is a country where people don’t like to observe the law. It is, as they say, a country of legal nihilism". In 2010 he commissioned a report which identified very serious problems in criminal justice, including an acquittal rate lower than in Soviet times and a complete lack of judicial independence. Medvedev’s reforms have been steadily rolled back since the re-election of Mr Putin in 2012. Where are we now?

Professor Bill Bowring is a practising barrister and teaches international law and human rights at Birkbeck College. He previously taught at University of East London, Essex University, where he is a Fellow of the Human Rights Centre, and London Metropolitan University. He has represented many applicants at the European Court of Human Rights since 1992, against Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Russia and Turkey. He is founder and Chair of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), a leading Strasbourg litigation project; is President of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH), active in 18 European countries; is active in the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales; and is a Trustee of the Redress Trust, and of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR). Bill has more than 100 publications including two monographs, the most recent of which is Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power (Routledge, 2013). He is also President of the SCRSS.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only.

The talk is open to both SCRSS members and non-members. Normal admission fees apply: SCRSS members £3.00 / non-members £5.00. Tickets are payable by cash only on the door (unfortunately, we're unable to accept debit or credit cards). As space is limited, we recommend that you contact the SCRSS in advance to reserve a place - reservations take priority if capacity is reached. The event starts promptly at 19.00, so please arrive in good time.

November 2018

Friday 2 November 2018, 18.00 - 21.00
Event: Social Evening / Exhibition Viewing and Fundraiser

The SCRSS will host a social evening to mark the Russian Revolution anniversary. It will be a great opportunity to view the Lenin: Leader of the Russian Revolution exhibition before it closes in December. We are planning to put most of the exhibits on sale to raise funds for the SCRSS and this event will be a perfect opportunity to make a purchase. Further details TBC in due course.

Saturday 3 November 2018, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only. Great gifts for Christmas!

Sunday 11 November, 12.30
Event: Remembrance Sunday at the Soviet War Memorial

An Act of Remembrance, marking the UK’s Remembrance Sunday, will take place at the Soviet War Memorial. The Mayor of Southwark, local politicians, diplomats from Russia and other former USSR states will join veterans and others to lay wreaths at the Memorial and observe a two-minute silence. Members of the public are welcome to attend. If you intend to lay a wreath on behalf of an organisation, please email the Honorary Secretary of the SMTF on smtf@hotmail.co.uk.

The Soviet War Memorial is located in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, adjacent to the Imperial War Museum in London. It was unveiled in 1999 on the initiative of the SCRSS and the Society has been supporting the work of the SMTF (Soviet Memorial Trust Fund) since its foundation. The SMTF organises three main ceremonies at the Memorial each year to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (January); Victory Day (9 May) and Remembrance Sunday (November).

December 2018

Saturday 1 December 2018, 11.00-16.00
Event: SCRSS Saturday Library Opening for Members

The Loan Library and General Reference Library will be open for use by members without prior appointment. De-acquired books and a selection of donated Soviet / Russian souvenirs will be on sale. You can deal with your membership renewal or even join the SCRSS on the spot to take advantage of access to the SCRSS Loan Library.

Please note: our SCRSS mugs for 2018 will be on sale - £6.50 each, payment by cash or cheque only. Great gifts for Christmas!

SCRSS exhibition poster - Soviet Modernist Art and Design 1917 - 1991(copyright SCRSS)