# Mikhail Smolin

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**Mikhail Borisovich Smolin** (Russian: Миха́ил Бори́сович Смо́лин; 22 February 1971 – 23 July 2025) was a Russian historian.[1]

## Life and career

Smolin was born in [Leningrad](/source/Saint_Petersburg) on 22 February 1971. In 1996 he graduated from the Faculty of History of [St. Petersburg State University](/source/Saint_Petersburg_State_University).[2]

He was the head of the Orthodox Center for Imperial Political Studies, the executive director of the Imperial Revival Foundation, as well as the editor-in-chief of the journals *Imperial Revival*, *Orthodox Volga Region*, *Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoi Rusi*, and the editor-publisher of the book series *Paths of Russian Imperial Consciousness, Orthodox Thought, and Imperial Tradition*.[3]

In 2024, Smolin was involved in a scandal, after he stated on a political talk show that "[Uzbeks](/source/Uzbeks), [Kazakhs](/source/Kazakhs) and [Azerbaijanis](/source/Azerbaijanis) did not exist before 1917."[4] This statement drew criticism from Uzbek society, and the Deputy Speaker of the Uzbek Parliament, Alisher Kadyrov, called for restrictions on the broadcasting of Russian channels.[5][6]

Smolin died on 23 July 2025, at the age of 54.[7]

## References

1. ["Biography"](http://www.rusinst.ru/articletext.asp?rzd=1&id=1028). *rusinst.ru*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150210154426/http://www.rusinst.ru/articletext.asp?rzd=1&id=1028) 2015-02-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

1. ["Михаил Борисович Смолин"](http://riss.ru/profile/fondiv/) (in ru-RU). *РИСИ*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161014021440/http://riss.ru/profile/fondiv/) 2016-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

1. ["Смолин Михаил Борисович"](http://www.hrono.info/biograf/bio_s/smolin_mb.html). *hrono.info*. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

1. [*"Узбеков не существовало до революции!" Историк-имперец из России – о казахах, узбеках и других народах Центральной Азии*](https://www.currenttime.tv/a/32790274.html) (in Russian). 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2025-07-23. – via currentime.tv.

1. ["Вице-спикер парламента Узбекистана предложил урезать вещание телеканалов на русском языке"](https://fergana.agency/news/132729/) (in Russian). *fergana.agency*. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

1. ["Вице-спикер парламента Узбекистана предложил сократить в стране использование русского языка"](https://rus.ozodi.org/a/32792523.html) (in Russian). *Радио Озоди*. 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

1. ["Ушел из жизни русский историк Михаил Смолин"](https://riamo.ru/news/obschestvo/ushel-iz-zhizni-russkij-istorik-mihail-smolin/) (in Russian). *РИАМО*. 2025-07-23. Retrieved 2025-07-23.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mikhail Smolin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Smolin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Smolin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.