The Extraordinary Lives and Achievements of Russian Emigres
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Since February 2022, a large wave of emigrants left Russia, most of them for political reasons. Yet, this is far from being the first wave of emigration from Russia. In the last 200 years, millions of emigres left Russia on account of their political views, professional careers, and personal circumstances and settled in Paris and Istanbul, London and Shanghai, New York and San Francisco, and beyond. Among them were scientists and engineers, writers and artists, singers and musicians, chess masters and linguists, ballet dancers and figure skaters. Several Russian emigres were awarded Nobel prizes for their achievements. In this course, we'll explore the extraordinary lives of several Russian emigres of international renown, among them: Elie Metchnikoff, a Nobel prize laureate who popularized yogurt; Sofia Kovalevskaya, a woman who couldn't pursue her chosen profession in Russia; Vladimir Zvorykin, a man whose invention completely changed the world we live in; and many others. We will examine what factors forced them to leave their homeland and what contributions they made to the world. We'll also consider how their lives enfolded in immigration, and perhaps even conjecture what might have happened to them had they decided to stay.