David R. Marples

David Roger Marples (born October 17, 1952) is a Canadian historian and Distinguished Professor at the Department of History & Classics, University of Alberta. He specializes in history and contemporary politics of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Education Marples was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and grew up in Bolsover, a town about away.

Marples initially attended Shirebrook Grammar School (subsequently Shirebrook School, now Shirebrook Academy, and later Keele University, studying English and Sociology, but transferred after one year to Westfield College, which was part of the University of London. He received his BA honours from the University of London in 1975, his MA in History from the University of Alberta in 1980, and Ph.D. in Economic and Social History from the University of Sheffield in 1985. The title of his Ph.D. dissertation was Collectivisation of agriculture in Western Ukraine 1944-1951.

Career Marples is a former President of The North American Association for Belarusian Studies (2010–15) and was formerly Director of the Stasiuk Program on Contemporary Ukraine at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (2004–14), University of Alberta.

He is regarded as one of the leading Western authorities on contemporary Belarus and Ukraine. Earlier, he studied the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe (social and political aspects). He is honorary president of the Belarusian Academy or Arts and Sciences in Canada, and retired Hon. Lt. Colonel, 6 Intelligence Company, Canadian Armed Forces (2006–14).

He has served as a consultant on Belarus to a wide array of government and nongovernmental organizations, including the US Department of State, the US Embassy in Minsk, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada, as well as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Marples recently joined the Advisory Board of Ibidem (Germany) for its series on Belarus, and the board of the Centre for Ukraine at the University of Tartu, Estonia.

Personal life Marples is married and has four children. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Publications

Books

Selected Articles