Oviedo (EFE).- The French historian Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, one of the great specialists in Russian history, has been distinguished this Wednesday with the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences 2023.
Born in Paris on July 6, 1929, she is perpetual secretary of the French Academy and is the author of more than twenty books, mainly on Russia, including “The Empire Explodes”, written in 1978 and with which she began known to the general public by predicting the end of the Soviet Union as a result of nationalist tensions.
Called by many as “the czarina of Sovietologists”, she is the mother of the writer Emmanuel Carrère, who in 2021 was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature.
The jury highlights the contribution of Carrère d ́Encausse to the knowledge of Russia
The jury for the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences has highlighted the French historian Hélène Carrère d’Encausse’s contribution to knowledge of the extinct Soviet Union and Russia, “one of the essential issues for understanding the contemporary world”.
The jury chaired by the emeritus professor of Sociology at the Complutense University, Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, praised Carrère d’Encausse as “one of the most brilliant, original and distinguished personalities of French historiography and contemporary European thought”.
The work of Carrère d’Encausse, which includes research monographs, biographies and major essays on historical interpretation, “probably constitutes the most substantial contribution that has been made in recent decades to knowledge of the Soviet Union and Russia, one of the most important topics essential for understanding the contemporary world”, highlighted the court that this year deliberated around twenty-five candidacies from fifteen nationalities.
The minutes, read this afternoon in Oviedo, recall that the winner, consistent with her historiographical specialization and as a member of the European Parliament, dealt preferably with relations between the European Union and Russia, and is also an elected member of the French Academy, of which, since 1999, she is the first woman to hold the position of perpetual secretary.