Nicholas V. Riasanovsky

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
Personal details
Born	21 December 1923 Harbin, China
Died	14 May 2011 Oakland, California
Nativity	China
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	39329056
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section	7D
Enlisted	Raymond, Mississippi

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Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky (21 December 1923–14 May 2011) was a Harbin-born Russian émigré historian, Camp Ritchie trainee (Class 10), and longtime University of California, Berkeley professor best known for A History of Russia.

Biography

Nicholas Valentine Riasanovsky (born Nicolai Valentinovitch Riasanovskiy) was born on 21 December 1923 in Harbin, China, the son of lawyer and legal scholar Valentin A. Riasanovsky and Antonina Riasanovsky, a teacher and novelist who wrote as Nina Fedorova. The family remained in China until 1938, then came to the United States. He graduated in history from the University of Oregon, then served in Army intelligence during World War II after training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Class 10); he later recalled participating in the Normandy landings and the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war he studied at Harvard under Michael Karpovich, then took a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, receiving his D.Phil. In 1949. He taught at the University of Iowa before joining the University of California, Berkeley faculty in 1957, remaining until retirement in 1997. His textbook A History of Russia (first published 1963) became a standard undergraduate survey through the Cold War and beyond. Riasanovsky died on 14 May 2011 in Oakland, California.

Research notes

• Also PG Class 10 GerOB
• OB 20

Gallery

• 
  Later portrait of Nicholas V. Riasanovsky (obituary / RB Archive).

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	88
Nara ASN	39329056
Nara Name	RIASANOVSKY NICHOLAS V
Nara State	95
Nara County	34
Nara POE	4580
Nara DOE	120343
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	NO
Nara Branch Code	2
Branch	No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment	0
Term of enlistment	Unknown
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	P8
Nara Year of Birth	23
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	8
Nara Civilian Occupation	32
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	22
Nara Weight (lbs)	145
Class_ASN	39329056
Class_Name	RIASANOVSKY, Nicholas V.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 21 December 1923 — Born in Harbin, China.
• 1938 — Family immigrates to the United States.
• University of Oregon history degree; Camp Ritchie Class 10; ETO service (Normandy, Bulge).
• 1949 — D.Phil., Oxford (Rhodes Scholar).
• 1957–1997 — Professor, UC Berkeley; A History of Russia (1963–).
• 14 May 2011 — Died in Oakland, California.

Sources

• New York Times — Nicholas V. Riasanovsky obituary (Paul Vitello)
• Wikipedia: Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)