Nicolas Werth

Nicolas Werth, born in Paris in 1950, is a prominent French historian renowned for his extensive research on communist regimes, particularly the Soviet Union. He hails from a family of notable intellectuals; his father, Alexander Werth, was a Russian-born British journalist who reported from the USSR during World War II.

Throughout his career, Werth has shared his expertise across the globe, teaching in various cities, including Minsk, New York, Moscow, and Shanghai. His tenure as Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy in Moscow from 1985 to 1989 coincided with the transformative period of perestroika, allowing him to witness historical changes firsthand. In 1989, he joined the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), where he focused his scholarship on Soviet history, particularly examining themes of state violence and social resistance during the tumultuous 1920s and 1930s.

Werth's contributions to historical literature are significant; he authored the sections on the USSR in the influential work, The Black Book of Communism. In addition, he served as a historical consultant for the 2007 French television documentary, Staline: le tyran rouge, aired on M6. He also co-created the documentary Gulag, The Story, alongside Patrick Rotman and François Aymé, which was released on Arte in 2019. Through these works, Werth has solidified his status as a leading voice in the study of totalitarian regimes.