Bio

I began studying Russia in college, when I completed an honors thesis on Dmitrii Pisarev and the radical intelligentsia of the 1860s. In graduate school at Harvard, I discovered a passion for earlier Russian history studying, studying the sixteenth century with the brilliant Edward L. Keenan and Omeljan Pritsak. I've was honored to start my scholarly career at Stanford in 1982 and have continued there ever since; my work has addressed issues of politics and society, contributing to discussions on the nature of autocracy and practices of law and governance.

Academic Appointments

  • Professor, History

Administrative Appointments

  • William H. Bonsall Professor in History, Stanford University (2004 - Present)
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of History, Stanford University (2006 - 2007)
  • Director, Graduate Studies, Dept. of History (2006 - 2007)
  • Director, Graduate Teaching, Dept. of History (2006 - 2013)
  • Professor, Dept. of History, Stanford University (1996 - 1996)
  • Associate Professor, Dept. of History, Stanford University (1989 - 1989)
  • Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, Stanford University (1982 - 1982)

Honors & Awards

  • Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize for "Crime and Punishment", Western Association for Women Historians (2013)
  • Heldt Prize, Honorable Mention for "Crime and Punishment", Association of Women in Slavic Studies (2013)
  • Fellow, Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford (2011-12)
  • Kahn-Van Slyke Award, Graduate Mentoring, Dept. of History (2007)
  • Faculty Research Fellow, Stanford Institute for International Studies (2003-4)
  • Sabbatical Fellowship, American Philosophical Society (2003-4)
  • Walter J. Gores Award, Excellence in Teaching for 2002 (2002)
  • Faculty Research, Stanford Humanities Center (1998-99, 2007-8, 2015-16)
  • Fellowship, Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (1998 (deferred), 1986, 1876-77)
  • Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1994-95)
  • Summer Stipend Awards, National Endowment for Humanities Summer Stipend (1993)
  • Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Independent Study and Research (1986)
  • Dean's Award, Distinguished Teaching, Stanford University (1984-85)
  • Fellowships for research travel to Russia, International Research and Exchanges Board (1976-77, 1986, 1995)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Resident Fellow, Norcliffe Dorm, Stanford University (2016 - 2021)
  • Committee on Residential Learning, member, VPUE (2017 - 2019)
  • University Prize Committee, (Gores, Dinkelspiel, Cuthbertson), Registrar’s Office (2002 - 2003)
  • Member, Thinking Matters Governance Board, VPUE (2013 - 2018)
  • Resident Fellow, West Lagunita Dorm, Stanford University (2012 - 2016)
  • University Prize Committee, (Gores, Dinkelspiel, Cuthbertson), Registrar’s Office (2009 - 2011)
  • Member, Academic Standing Review Board, VPUE (2009 - 2013)
  • Executive Committee, National Council for East European and Eurasian Research (NCEEER) (2006 - 2012)
  • Member at Large, Board of Directors, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (1995 - 1997)
  • Chair, Visiting Committee for Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (1993 - 1993)
  • Chair, Visiting Committee for Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (1998 - 1998)
  • Chair, Visiting Committee for Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (2002 - 2002)

Professional Education

  • A.B., Middlebury College, History and Russian Language and Literature
  • A.M., Harvard University, History
  • Ph.D., Harvard University, History

Contact

  • Academic
    kollmann@stanford.edu
    University - Faculty Department: History Department Position: Professor
    • BLDG 200 ROOM 311
    • Stanford,  California  94305-2024 
    (650) 725-0597 (fax)

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 2024

Links

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

October 2018: In 2017 I published a synthetic history -- "The Russian empire 1450-1801" (Oxford). I am working on images of Russia in early modern Europe, generally by eyewitness travelers but also in the scurrilous penny press. I'm exploring how the tropes of engraving culture shaped images, how knowledge of Russia was disseminated and what image of Russia literate Europeans received. Then I'll return to the law -- Catherine II's 1772 judicial reforms on the local level across the Empire.

Projects

  • Catherinian legal reforms in the provinces

    Location

    Russia

  • Images of Russia in early modern European print discourse.

    Analyzes the imagery about Russia in eyewitness travel accounts by Herberstein, Olearius, Palmquist and Meyerberg, as well as images of Ivan IV and Russians in the penny press and cartography; explores how knowledge of Russia (in text and illustration) was disseminated in early modern Europe through publication and translations of their works.

    Location

    Stanford, CA

2024-25 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • English Trade and Adventure to Russia in the Early Modern Era: The Muscovy Company, 1603-1649 (Book Review) ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW Book Review Authored by: Kollmann, N. S. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1093/ehr/ceab262

    View details for Web of Science ID 000756420600001

  • God, Tsar, and People: The Political Culture of Early Modern Russia (Book Review) RUSSIAN REVIEW Book Review Authored by: Kollmann, N. S. 2021; 80 (2): 326–27

    View details for Web of Science ID 000623308700021

  • Crime and Punishment in the Russian Empire CAMBRIDGE WORLD HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, VOL III: 1500-1800 CE Kollmann, N. S., Antony, R., Carroll, S., Pennock, C. D. 2020: 331-349

    View details for Web of Science ID 000627549900018

  • The Litsevoi Svod as Graphic Novel Narrativity in Iconographic Style KRITIKA-EXPLORATIONS IN RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN HISTORY Kollmann, N. S. 2018; 19 (1): 53–82

    View details for Web of Science ID 000424859400004

  • A History of Russian Law: From Ancient Times to the Council Code (Ulozhenie) of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1649 (Book Review) RUSSIAN REVIEW Book Review Authored by: Kollmann, N. S. 2018; 77 (4): 656–58

    View details for Web of Science ID 000443708100017

  • Russia and Courtly Europe: Ritual and the Culture of Diplomacy, 1648-1725 (Book Review) SLAVIC REVIEW Book Review Authored by: Kollmann, N. 2018; 77 (2): 520–22

    View details for DOI 10.1017/slr.2018.163

    View details for Web of Science ID 000438522400039

  • The Complexity of History Russia and Steven Pinker's Thesis HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS-REFLEXIONS HISTORIQUES Kollmann, N. 2018; 44 (1): 41–53

    View details for DOI 10.3167/hrrh.2018.440106

    View details for Web of Science ID 000436464700006

  • The Russian- Swedish border (1617-1700). Formation. Functioning. Heritage. Historical essays (Book Review) AB IMPERIO-STUDIES OF NEW IMPERIAL HISTORY AND NATIONALISM IN THE POST-SOVIET SPACE Book Review Authored by: Kollmann, N. S. 2018: 241–43

    View details for Web of Science ID 000444472300014

  • Representing Legitimacy in Early Modern Russia RUSSIAN REVIEW Kollmann, N. S. 2017; 76 (1): 7-21

    View details for DOI 10.1111/russ.12116

    View details for Web of Science ID 000396375200001

  • The Russian Empire Kollmann, N. S. Oxford University Press . 2016
  • A Deeper Early Modern A Response to Paul Bush kovitch KRITIKA-EXPLORATIONS IN RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN HISTORY Kollmann, N. S. 2015; 16 (2): 317-329

    View details for Web of Science ID 000355640200006

  • Pictures at an Execution: Johann Georg Korb’s ‘Execution of the Strel’tsy Dubitando Boeck, B. edited by Martin, R. E., Rowland, D. Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers. 2012: 399–407
  • Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Russia Kollmann, N. S. Cambridge. 2012
  • The Concept of Political Culture in Russian History A Companion to Russian History Gleason, A. T. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 2009: 89–104
  • Marking the Body in Early Modern Judicial Punishment,” Harvard Ukrainian Studies Kollmann, N. S. 2009: 557–65
  • Torture in Early Modern Russia The New Muscovite Cultural History edited by Kivelson, V., Petrone, K., Kollmann, N. S., Flier, M. Bloomington, Ind.: Slavica. 2009: 159–70
  • Etiquette for Peter's time: The 'Honorable Mirror' for youth RUSSIAN HISTORY-HISTOIRE RUSSE Kollmann, N. S. 2008; 35 (1-2): 63-83

    View details for Web of Science ID 000258106700004

  • Thoughts on Beauty and Violence: Images of the Crucifixion in Russian Iconography Anfologion Kollmann, N. S. Moscow: Indrik. 2008: 362–69
  • 27 October 1698: Peter Punishes the Strel’tsy Days from the Reigns of Eighteenth-Century Russian Rulers Kollmann, N. S. Cambridge. 2007: 23–36
  • The Cap of Monomakh Picturing Russia edited by Kivelson, V., Neuberger, J. Yale University Press. 2007
  • Change and Continuity in the Law under Peter I Papers from the VII International Conference of the Study Group on Eighteenth-Century Russia, Wittenberg 2004 edited by Bartlett, R., Lehmann-Carli, G. 2007: 383–91
  • The quality of mercy in early modern legal practice KRITIKA-EXPLORATIONS IN RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN HISTORY Kollmann, N. S. 2006; 7 (1): 5-22

    View details for Web of Science ID 000235630800002

  • Law and Society in Seventeenth-Century Russia Cambridge History of Russia edited by Perrie, M. Cambridge. 2006: 559–78
  • Und 17. Jahrhundert aus der Perspektive seiner Regionen Forschungen zur osteuropäïschen Geschichte edited by Kappeler, A. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 2004: 252–268
  • Society and Identity Modernizing Muscovy edited by Kotilaine, J., Poe, M. London and New York: Routledge. 2004: 417–31
  • Convergence, Expansion, and Experimentation: Current Trends in Muscovite History-Writing After the Fall. Essays in Russian and Soviet Historiography Kollmann, N. S. 2004: 9-22
  • Self, Society and Gender in Early Modern Russia and Eastern Europe A Companion to Gender History edited by Meade, T. A., Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. London: Blackwell. 2004: 358–70
  • Associate Editor, Europe. 1450 to 1789 Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World edited by Dewald, J. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 2004
  • Romancing the Sources Adventures in Historical Research Kollmann, N. S. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. 2003: 153–64
  • Gender and the Problem of Muscovite Particularities Muscovy edited by Szvak, G. Budapest. 2003: 34–41
  • What's Love Got to Do With It Changing Models of Masculinity in Muscovite and Petrine Russia edited by Clement, B. E., Friedman, R., Healey, D. London. 2002: 15–32
  • Soedinnenye chest’iu trans. Kamenskii, A. B. Moscow. 2002
  • Lynchings and Legality in Early Modern Russia Forschungen zur osteuropäïschen Geschichte Kollmann, N. S. 2002; 56: 1801-6
  • Convergence, expansion, and experimentation: Current trends in Muscovite history-writing KRITIKA-EXPLORATIONS IN RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN HISTORY Kollmann, N. S. 2001; 2 (2): 233-240

    View details for Web of Science ID 000170830600002

  • Russian Law in a Eurasian Setting The Arzamas Region, Late Seventeenth - Early Eighteenth Century edited by Szvak, G. Budapest. 2001: 200–6
  • The New Cambridge Medieval History Russia in the Fifteen Century Jones, M. Cambridge University Press. 2000
  • By Honor Bound State and Society in Early Modern Russia Kollmann, N. S. Cornell University Press. 1999
  • Problema chesti zhenshchin v Moskovskoi Rusi [The Problem of Women's Honor in Muscovite Russia], Sotsial'naia istoriia Kollmann, N. S. 1999: 205-16
  • By Honor Bound State and Society in Early Modern Russia Y, I. N. Cornell University Press. 1999
  • The extremes of patriarchy: Spousal abuse and murder in early modern Russia RUSSIAN HISTORY-HISTOIRE RUSSE Kollmann, N. S. 1998; 25 (1-2): 133-140

    View details for Web of Science ID 000084098300013

  • The New Cambridge Medieval History The Rus' Pricipalities in the Fourteenth Century Allmand, C. Cambridge University Press. 1998
  • Muscovite Russia, 1450-1598 Russia Freeze, G. New York. 1997: 27–54
  • Rhetoric of the Medieval Slavic World Essays presented to Edward L. Keenan on his Sixtieth Birthday edited by Pliguzov, A., Ostrowski, D., Rowland, D. Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 1997; 19
  • Religion and Culture in Early Modern Russia and Ukraine edited by Baron, S. H. DeKalb, Ill.: Northern Illinois Univ. Press. 1997
  • Concepts of Society and Social Identity in Early Modern Russia Religion and Culture in Early Modern Russia and Ukraine edited by Kollmann, N. S. 1997
  • Murder in the Hoover Archive The Rhetoric of the Medieval Slavic World Kollmann, N. S. Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 1995: 324–34
  • Pilgrimage, Procession and Symbolic Space in Sixteenth-Century Russian Politics Medieval Russian Culture Kollmann, N. S. Berkeley. 1994: 163–81
  • Major Problems in Early Modern Russian History edited by Kollmann, N. S. New York: Garland Publishing. 1992
  • Women's Honor in Early Modern Russia Russia's Women edited by Engel, B. A., Worobec, C. D. Berkeley. 1991: 60–73
  • Collateral Succession in Kievan Rus' Harvard Ukrainian Studies Kollmann, N. S. 1990; 14 (3/4): 377-87
  • WAS THERE HONOR IN KIEV RUS JAHRBUCHER FUR GESCHICHTE OSTEUROPAS Kollmann, N. S. 1988; 36 (4): 481-492

    View details for Web of Science ID A1988U301800001

  • THE GRAND-PRINCE IN MUSCOVITE POLITICS - THE PROBLEM OF GENRE IN SOURCES ON IVAN MINORITY RUSSIAN HISTORY-HISTOIRE RUSSE Kollmann, N. S. 1987; 14 (1-4): 293-313

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987T867600014

  • Kinship and Politics The Making of the Muscovite Political System Kollmann, N. S. Stanford University Press. 1987: 324
  • RITUAL AND SOCIAL DRAMA AT THE MUSCOVITE COURT SLAVIC REVIEW Kollmann, N. S. 1986; 45 (3): 486-502

    View details for Web of Science ID A1986F722900003

  • CONSENSUS POLITICS + MUSCOVY - THE DYNASTIC CRISIS OF THE 1490S RECONSIDERED RUSSIAN REVIEW Kollmann, N. S. 1986; 45 (3): 235-267

    View details for Web of Science ID A1986F659600001

  • THE SECLUSION OF ELITE MUSCOVITE WOMEN RUSSIAN HISTORY-HISTOIRE RUSSE Kollmann, N. S. 1983; 10: 170-187

    View details for Web of Science ID A1983TG98300003