author
Alfred von Hedenström
1869–1927
A Baltic-Swedish historian from Riga, he wrote in German about Russia, the Baltic region, and the political upheavals of his time. His work brings a close, informed view of an empire and its borderlands in years of dramatic change.
1 Audiobook
Venäjän historia 1878-1918
by Alfred von Hedenström
About the author
Robert Matthias Alfred von Hedenström was born in Riga on August 21, 1869, and died there on April 13, 1927. He is described in reference sources as a historian, and accounts of his life identify him as a Baltic-Swedish political historian who spent most of his life in the Russian Empire and the Baltic region, writing in German.
He studied at the Imperial University of Dorpat, later became a docent at the Riga Polytechnic Institute in 1900, and from 1919 worked as a docent at the University of Latvia in Riga. His books focused on Russian and Baltic history and politics, including works on relations between Russia and Brandenburg, Baltic history in the 19th century, the years of war in Riga, and Russia from 1878 to 1918.
For modern listeners, Hedenström is especially interesting because he wrote close to the events he described. That gives his history a strong sense of immediacy, even when readers may want to pair it with newer scholarship for broader context.