Many distinguished academics have headed the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies over the years since its founding.
The first lecturer to teach Russian at The University College, Nottingham, was Basil Slepchenko. Born in Ekaterinodar, he had studied at the Commercial Institute in Moscow, and travelled to Britain in 1914 in order to improve his English and foster exchanges for the students of the Institute. He volunteered for service after the war broke out, but was rejected on medical grounds. Unexpectedly stranded, he remained in the UK and made the country his home, embracing a new career as a teacher of Russian language.
Basil was appointed to his post in Nottingham in 1915, where he initially taught students across a range of day and evening classes. He also held part-time teaching positions in both Derby and Leicester. He left Nottingham in 1917 to take up a lectureship at the University of Liverpool. In a testimonial, an academic colleague praised his skill as a teacher, his experience and his zeal, remarking that his excellence was so great that his later departure from Liverpool was “disastrous to Russian studies”. Basil died in an accident in 1966, and was buried in Utley Cemetery in Bradford.
‘If Lavrin had not come to Nottingham so unexpectedly in 1918, then the study of the Slovene language would surely never have taken root here in Nottingham, or perhaps more widely in Britain at all.’ - Malcolm Jones, Janko Lavrin (RTV SLO, 2007)
‘If Lavrin had not come to Nottingham so unexpectedly in 1918, then the study of the Slovene language would surely never have taken root here in Nottingham, or perhaps more widely in Britain at all.’
- Malcolm Jones, Janko Lavrin (RTV SLO, 2007)
‘Nottingham seems to me the happiest of all the departments I have worked in. Happy in the spirit and teamwork of its staff; happy in the relations between its students and staff; happy in the quality – personal and intellectual – of its students’ - Frank Seeley (Slavonica, 1977)
‘Nottingham seems to me the happiest of all the departments I have worked in. Happy in the spirit and teamwork of its staff; happy in the relations between its students and staff; happy in the quality – personal and intellectual – of its students’
- Frank Seeley (Slavonica, 1977)
‘Monica was a passionate believer not only in the importance of Russian teaching but also the value of the cultures and languages of other East European countries’ - Peter Herrity et al, The Bell of Freedom (Astra Press, 1997)
‘Monica was a passionate believer not only in the importance of Russian teaching but also the value of the cultures and languages of other East European countries’
- Peter Herrity et al, The Bell of Freedom (Astra Press, 1997)
‘the department retained the traditional friendly atmosphere for which students remember it, not least because of excellent teaching, the bonding effect of periods of study abroad, the availability of social space in the department and the genial and efficient presence of its departmental secretary.’ - Malcolm Jones
‘the department retained the traditional friendly atmosphere for which students remember it, not least because of excellent teaching, the bonding effect of periods of study abroad, the availability of social space in the department and the genial and efficient presence of its departmental secretary.’
- Malcolm Jones
"I included Bulgakov in my course whenever possible, and was always gratified to see the enthusiasm with which students responded to his works, just as I myself had done as an undergraduate." - Lesley Milne
"I included Bulgakov in my course whenever possible, and was always gratified to see the enthusiasm with which students responded to his works, just as I myself had done as an undergraduate."
- Lesley Milne
'Participation in a play as an undergraduate and then as a member of staff showed me what value there is in drama as an instrument of language learning.' - Cynthia Marsh
'Participation in a play as an undergraduate and then as a member of staff showed me what value there is in drama as an instrument of language learning.'
- Cynthia Marsh