Geoffrey A. Hosking is professor of Russian history at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. He was the BBC Reith Lecturer in 1988 and has taught Russian history, politics and literature at the Universities of Essex, Wisconsin, and Cologne. His numerous publications include The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within (1993), Myths and Nationhood (1997), Russia: People and Empire 1552-1917 (1998), Reinterpreting Russia (1999) and Russia and the Russians: a History from Rus' to the Russian Federation (2001).