Arnold Barratt McMillin

Arnold Barratt McMillin (born 21 June 1941) is a British scholar of Belarusian and Russian studies, Emeritus Professor of Russian Literature, and the author of the first English-language history of Belarusian literature.

Life Arnold McMillin studied at the University of London where he earned a PhD in Slavic Philology in 1971. The topic of his dissertation - the vocabulary of the Belarusian literary language in the 19th century - was suggested by a prominent slavist, Robert Auty. Belarus was a completely neglected field of Slavonic studies at that time. In writing the dissertation, McMillin drew upon the resources and expertise of what would become the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London.

McMillin taught the Russian language and literature at the University of London (1965–76) and the University of Liverpool (1976–88). In 1988-2006, he was a professor of Russian literature at the University of London.

From 1960s, McMillin has supported the Belarusian community and academic Belarusian studies in Britain. He edited the Journal of Belarusian Studies (1967-1971), was a vice-president of the Anglo-Belarusian Society and delivered many talks organised by the Society. He was one of the trustees of the Belarusian library in London when it became a registered charity, serving on the Board of Trustees for 41 years. In the only review of A History of Byelorussian Literature from Its Origins to the Present Day published in Soviet Belarus, McMillin was labeled "bourgeois objectivist" – a made-up ideological description to calm the editors' fears and ensure the article would pass through censors.

Books