Alexander Kamensky (historian)

Alexander Borisovich Kamensky (Александр Борисович Каменский; born 26 April 1954, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian historian, Doctor of Historical Sciences, and professor, specializing in the history of 18th-century Russia.

He was born in Moscow into a family of engineers and graduated from the Faculty of History of the Moscow Regional Pedagogical Institute. → His early career included work in archival and research institutions. Since 1988, he has taught at the Institute of History and Archives, which in 1991 became part of the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH). He headed a department at RSUH, and in 2000 received the title of professor. In 2010, he moved to the Higher School of Economics (HSE), where he contributed to the creation of the School of Historical Sciences; since 2023 he has been its academic supervisor. →

Kamensky defended his candidate dissertation in 1984 and his doctoral dissertation in 1998. He is active in the professional community and has appeared as a public historian in the media, as well as taking part in documentary films as an expert and consultant. → Reviewers have noted Kamensky’s revision of several established concepts and categories in the study of 18th-century Russian history. →

In his public statements, Kamensky has opposed the imposition of a single version of the past and teaching history as a set of facts. He has advocated methods that develop critical thinking and the presentation of different viewpoints in textbooks. → He has received a number of state and university awards. His students and graduate students have repeatedly recognized him as the best teacher of the year. →