Stephen Kotkin

Stephen Mark Kotkin is an American historian, academic, and author specializing in Russian and Soviet history. He is best known for his comprehensive three-volume biography of Joseph Stalin, with the first two volumes published as "Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928" (2014) and "Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941" (2017). The third volume remains in progress, completing his monumental study of the Soviet leader's life and political career. Kotkin's scholarly work has earned widespread recognition for its depth of research and analytical rigor.

Kotkin has held prominent academic positions throughout his career, including serving as the John P. Birkelund '52 Professor in History and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he taught for 33 years before attaining emeritus status in 2022. He also directed Princeton's Institute for International and Regional Studies and co-directed the certificate program in History and the Practice of Diplomacy. Currently, he serves as a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His contributions to historical scholarship have been honored with prestigious fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities.