The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Academic Alcoves photo series: A Russian Romance

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The Collegian will be publishing a photo series in the last week of classes showcasing various professors' offices around the University of Richmond. This is the fifth installment of seven. 

History and international studies professor David Brandenberger has a passion for collecting artifacts from the pre- and post-Stalin era. Giant maps of the USSR and multiple propaganda posters from this period are displayed throughout the room.

Two giant Soviet flags fly on each side of his desk, apparently scaring students with their magnitude as they walk in. A box of Stalin’s favorite cigarettes, gifted to Brandenberger by a retired professor, sit on a bookshelf next to his desk.

“I had a Russian professor in college who had tons of stuff from the former USSR, so I think that's probably what inspired me," Brandenberger said. "I picked up a lot of this stuff in the early 1990s at flea markets."







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Contact Sophie Pilkington at sophie.pilkington@richmond.edu.

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