The SCRSS organises a regular programme of events
both online and at its premises in London. The Society is also
involved in official events associated with the Soviet War Memorial
in London. Events are open to both SCRSS members and non-members,
unless otherwise stated. The opinions expressed in lectures are
those of the individual speakers and not necessarily those of
the SCRSS.
Venue and Tickets
Standard ticket prices for talks are £3.00 (SCRSS members)
and £5.00 (non-members). All other events or classes are
priced as indicated. Our library openings are normally every first
Saturday of the month, but please check the calendar below.
2026 Events Diary
January 2026
Please note: there is no Saturday library opening in January
2026.
From Thursday 8 January 2026, 18.00 - 20.00 (for 8 further
weeks)
Zoom Online Evening Class: Russian Language for Upper Intermediate
Level
Note: This is the continuation of the 10-session class that
started on 11 December 2025 and broke after 18 December 2025 for
Christmas and New Year.
Rolling 10-week Zoom evening class, taught by Christine Barnard,
former lecturer in Russian at Westminster University, suitable
for more advanced-level speakers (upper intermediate) who would
like to practise their conversational skills. The group is small,
friendly, informal and strictly non-competitive. Each session
includes one hour of free conversation, followed by one hour of
reading, with a short break in between. The group reads a variety
of short stories or short extracts from longer books, with suggestions
welcome. The group is currently reading Devochka iz Stalingrada.
There is currently availability for new members to join the class.
For more information or to request a free one-evening trial, please
email Christine Barnard direct on rtstrans1@gmail.com.
Please note: As this is a rolling 10-week session
and is conversation and reading based, you can join at any time,
not just at the beginning of a 10-week session.
Fee for 10 weeks: £60.00 (discounted rate for SCRSS
members: £40.00), payable in advance. Why not become an
SCRSS member to join at the special
discounted rate.
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February 2026
Saturday 7 February 2026, 11.00 -
16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Monday 23 February 2026, 19.00 - 20.00
Zoom Online Talk: Ben Lunn on Exploring Socialist Realism
in Soviet Music Through Three Composers
Socialist Realism is a thoroughly analysed topic within discussions
of art in the Soviet Union. However, despite the extent of the
discussion, the approach to making music Socialist Realist is
not as clearly understood. This talk by Ben Lunn will introduce
the nature of the theory, and how individuals like Boris Asafiev
initially laid the foundations for composers to understand Socialist
Realism. Then Ben will reflect on how three different composers
were able to incorporate this thinking into their work - through
quotation in Boris Lyatoshinsky, iconography in Alexander Mosolov,
or the rejuvenation of folk traditions within the work of Julius
Juzeliunas.
Booking: details to follow in early January 2026.
Normal fees apply: £5.00 (£3.00 SCRSS members).
Ben Lunn has forged himself a unique position within the new music
landscape. As a composer, Lunn's music reflects such areas as
the material world around him, connecting to his North-Eastern
heritage; or how disability impacts the world around him; or his
working-class upbringing. Alongside this, he has become renowned
for his championship of others, which has seen him create collaborations
with musicians from across the globe, and develop unique concert
experiences and opportunities for others. Alongside this, Ben's
academic pursuits have included music in the Baltic, music and
socialist politics, and music and disability. His PhD research
focused on how composers incorporate politics into their work.
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March 2026
Saturday 7 March
2026, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Monday 9 March 2026, 19.00 - 20.00
Zoom Online Talk: Charles Buxton on Communities Facing Environmental
Hazards in Central Asia Today
The populations of the five republics of Central Asia, formerly
part of the Soviet Union, face many environmental challenges today.
In this talk Charles Buxton, who has lived in Kyrgyzstan since
2002, will discuss climate change and the risks to local communities
from natural hazards such as melting glaciers, avalanches, floods
and drought. In particular, he will focus geographically on the
republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and within this more narrowly
on North Tajikistan and South Kyrgyzstan where their boundaries
meet in the Fergana Valley. The Fergana Valley is a densely populated,
fertile agricultural region situated between the mountain systems
of the Tien Shan in the north and the Alay and Fergana ranges
in the south. As a civil society specialist, Charles will highlight
the connection between ecological issues, on the one hand, and
political, social and economic issues, on the other, laying out
some of the two governments' priorities in this field and how
they are responding to the international environmental agenda.
Booking: details to follow in early January 2026.
Normal fees apply: £5.00 (£3.00 SCRSS members).
Charles Buxton was born in London and gained a degree in Russian
from the University of Oxford in 1972, followed by an MA in Sociology
of Literature from the University of Essex in 1974. He was active
in the trade union and anti-racist movement in the 1970s and 1980s,
with a two-year break in 1978-80 when he worked as a translator
/ editor for Novosti News Agency in Moscow. Between 1981-95, he
set up and coordinated two progressive non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) in Tower Hamlets, supported by the local labour movement
and Greater London Council. Since the mid-1990s he has worked
in international development and civil society development in
the former Soviet Union (FSU), and has been based in Central Asia
for over twenty years.
Charles has written two books devoted to the experience of development
work in Central Asia: 'The Struggle for Civil Society in Central
Asia: Crisis and Transformation' was published by Kumarian in
2011; 'Russia and Development: Capitalism, Civil Society and the
State' was published by Zed in 2014. His third book 'Ragged Trousered
NGOs: Development Work under Neo-liberalism', published by Routledge
in 2019, brings together his UK and FSU-based experiences and
analysis.
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April 2026
Saturday 4 April 2026, 11.00 -
16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
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May 2026
Saturday 2 May 2026, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Saturday 16 May 2026, 11.00 - 13.00
Event: SCRSS Annual General Meeting
SCRSS
members only. An afternoon talk or other event will also be organised.
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June 2026
Saturday 6 June 2026, 11.00 -
16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
July 2026
Saturday 4 July 2026, 11.00 -
16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
August 2026
Saturday 1 August
2026, 11.00 - 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
September 2026
Saturday 5 September 2026, 11.00
- 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
October 2026
Saturday 3 October 2026, 11.00
- 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
November 2026
Saturday 7 November 2026, 11.00
- 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
Back to top
December 2026
Saturday 5 December 2026, 11.00
- 16.00
Event: SCRSS Library Opening
Library opening for SCRSS members - other visitors by appointment.
Access the library collections and borrow books from the
Literature and Quick Loan sections. Buy surplus stock of books,
postcards and Soviet badges from the Library at low prices. Tea
and coffee available.
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