Irina Sherbakova

ELKOST Intl. literary agency handles world translation rights in all works by Irina Sherbakova

Marion Dönhoff Preis 2022 (Germany)
Cross of Honour for Science and Art (2019, Austria)
Goethe Medal 2017 (Germany)
Carl-von-Ossietzky-Preis 2014 (Germany)

Irina Sherbakova

Russian journalist and historian Irina Sherbakova (b.1949) is a Head of Educational Youth Programme of Russian Human Rights Group MEMORIAL (2009 Sakharov Prize, 2007/2008 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2004 Right Livelihood Award, 2004 Nansen Refugee Award).

Graduated from School of Philology at the Moscow State University with a degree in German philological studies.

1979: Ph. D. in Philological Studies.

Until 1987 Ms. Sherbakova was mostly engaged in German philological studies and translations of German literature.

Since the end of 1970ies until present Irina collects oral reminiscences of former GULAG prisoners.

1973-1983: editor in Sovietskaya Literatura magazin and Literaturnaya Gazeta weekly.

1991: editor at Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily.

1991-2006: Senior Methodologist at the center for Oral History and Visual Anthropology at the Russian State University for the Humanities

1994-1995: scholarship at Wissenschaftkolleg, Berlin.

1998: scholarship at the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna).

1998-1999: Gastprofessor at the School of History in the University of Salzburg, theme “GULAG in the memory and archival documents.”

Since 1999: Head of the project “Russian Annual Historical Competition for High School Students” run by the Memorial Society (Moscow). Director of the Center of Oral History Studies (Memorial).

2008:  Gastprofessor an  the  University  of  Bremen  (Osteuropa-Forschung), Gastprofessor an  the University of  Jena (Germany)

Irina is the author of:

  • Zerrissene Erinnerung: Der Umgang mit Stalinismus und Zweitem Weltkrieg im heutigen Russland (Wallstein, 2010)
  • Unruhige Zeiten: Lebensgeschichten aus Russland und Deutschland (editor, Körber Stiftung, 2006)
  • Russlands Gedächtnis. Jugendliche entdecken vergessene Lebensgeschichten (editor, Körber Stiftung, 2004)
  • Moskauer Küchengespräche (with Susanne Scholl, Styria, 1997)

Books