Today's guest is Russian/Soviet historian and maroon-blooded Aggie Roger Reese! Roger is Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies at Texas A&M University. He specializes in the social history of the Imperial Russian and Soviet militaries and has written seven books on the Russian armed forces. He received his BA in history from Texas A&M and moved to Austin to earn his MA and PhD from the University of Texas. Following his commissioning from Texas A&M, Roger served in the United States Army from 1981-1984.
Roger's many books include Stalin's Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925-1941 (Kansas), Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought: The Red Army's Military Effectiveness in World War II (Kansas), and The Imperial Russian Army, in Peace, War, and Revolution, 1856-1917 (Kansas). The latter won the World War One Historical Association's Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Book Prize. His most recent book is Russia's Army: A History from the Napoleonic Wars to the War in Ukraine (Oklahoma).
Roger's articles have been published in leading journals that include the Journal of Slavic Military Studies, War & Society, and the Journal of Military History. In 2003, he was awarded The Society for Military History's Moncado Prize for the outstanding article in military history for "Red Army Professionalism and the Communist Party, 1918-1941." He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Canadian-American Slavic Studies, and Histories. Roger is an exceptional teacher and received Texas A&M's University Distinguished Achievement Award in the Area of Teaching in 2009.
Join us for a very interesting chat with Roger about the Russian military through time, researching in post-Cold War Russian archives, being in the Aggie Corps of Cadets, Aggie football, Willie Nelson, Tolstoy, and the common theme it seems of this podcast - serendipity.
Shoutout to Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan, Texas (though Roger claims his brisket is the best around)!
Rec.: 11/03/2023
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