Russell Zguta

Russell Zguta is a US historian, Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri.[1]

Zguta is a native of Ukraine. Born as Jaroslav Zguta, he was given the name "Russell" upon his enrollment in first grade; it was deemed more American.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis University (1964), a Master of Arts from The Penn State University (1965), and a Ph.D. also from The Penn State University (1967).

Zguta has dedicated his life to studying various aspects of the Eastern Slavic culture from which he hails. His studies of the Middle Age and early Modern Slavic culture are renowned among scholars of Russian and Slavic folklore. In 1979, he was included in Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Books List with the release of his book Russian Minstrels: A History of the Skomorokhi. His other works include Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century Russia (1977), The One-Day Votive Church: A Religious Response to the Black Death in Early Russia, and Monastic Medicine in Kievan Rus and Early Muscovy.

He has received numerous national awards and inductions into societies for his excellence in research and teaching. He is not only renowned among Russian Folklore scholars, he is a well-respected educator at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri where he presently teaches, and has been the Chair of Romance Languages and Literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History. In 1990 he received an award from the University for his outstanding teaching efforts.

Zguta, with his vast education and life experience in Ukraine has devoted his life to the study of historical oral tradition in the region. His works include the traditions of witchcraft, the Skomorokhi, and other various folk arts. His study of eastern Slavic folklore has gained his notoriety and acclaim, despite choosing to remain an educator at the University of Missouri. His published articles about the Skomorokhi from its roots in Kievan Rus', have been especially notable. He explored the use of music, puppets, and dance in the tradition as well as its place in the history of Russian and Central Asian society. He places it as an important link in pre-recorded history, to the people and society.

Zguta's study of these traveling minstrels and their role in the retelling of Russian Folktales, has been renowned especially as he discussed the issues of evolution and devolution of the folktales. His theory is that since the folktales, which are retold through these dramatic retellings, were not written down, whatever interpretation those artists expressed were remembered as the verbatim version of the story. Therefore, singular performances could permanently alter the understanding of the story for an entire region. Some of his famous quotes include "Siberia is not California" and "What are naval stores? They're not Old Navy clothes!"