Faith Hillis from the University of Chicago was awarded the Wayne S. Vucinich Prize for her book “Utopia’s Discontents: Russian Émigrés and the Quest for Freedom, 1830s-1930s”. The scholars recognized the book as the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies.

Established in 1983, the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize is awarded annually for the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences published in English in the United States in the previous calendar year.

This year, the prestigious award, sponsored by the Association for Slavic Studies, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) and the Stanford University Center for Russian and East European Studies, went to Faith Hills, Professor of Russian History at the University of Chicago.

“Utopia’s Discontents: Russian Émigrés and the Quest for Freedom, 1830s-1930s” was released in April 30, 2021. It is the first synthetic history of the Russian revolutionary emigration before the revolution of 1917. In her work Faith Hills focuses on a century of emigres from Russia, but also showcases the connections between Russia and broader European history and onset of the Russian Revolution.

This groundbreaking transnational work demonstrates the indelible marks the Russian colonies left on European politics, legal cultures, and social practices, while underscoring their role during a pivotal period of Russian history.

The book met with many positive reviews in the scientific and journalistic environment. Kevin M.F. Platt from Times Literary Supplement wrote about this book:

“When we describe the October Revolution as a ‘world-historical event’, this is usually understood to refer to the global consequences of the rise of the first Marxist state. Faith Hillis, in a brilliant move, has turned this sequence of events on its head. Utopia’s Discontents shows how people, places and events situated far beyond the borders of Russia shaped the Revolution. The October Revolution, she shows, was world-historical at its root….Utopia’s Discontents narrates the history of these utopian communities in fascinating, intimate detail….An excellent example of history that steps beyond disciplinary divisions and national boundaries.”

Source: https://history.uchicago.edu/news/faith-hillis-awarded-prestigious-book-prize