T. McDonald

Welcome

I am an historian of Russian and Soviet History at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. I hold a PhD in History from the University of Toronto. I was fortunate enough to be a graduate student when the archives began to open up in Russia after 1991. As a result, I had the incredible opportunity to spend more than two years, if all of the time spent is added together, researching in archives in Russia. The time I spent in the archives in the 2010s were the most fulfilling of my career. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I have not returned to Russia nor are most scholars welcome.

Current Research

My current research projects include:

• A study of the history of the trapping, transporting, importing, exporting, and exhibition of animals in the USSR 1924-1964.
• A microhistory of the attempt to acclimatize sea otters in the Commander Islands in the 1930s
• A biography.

Areas of Interest

Russian and Soviet History • Critical Animal Studies • Agrarian Studies • Documentary Film • Soviet Culture