Please note that this event is not suitable for our English speaking only audiences, as no translation from Russian will be provided on this occasion. As part of our efforts to cater for our varied audiences and bring in a diversity of voices, some of our events now take an intimate chamber format and are conducted in Russian only.

The solar eclipse of 1914 was a landmark event for the global scientific community. The chance to observe it drew scientists from around the world. Among them was an unexpected group: female students from the St. Petersburg Higher Women’s Courses. Without the means even to cover their travel expenses, they devised their own plan, designed and built the necessary instruments, and set out on the journey. No one believed their expedition would succeed.

This extraordinary true story inspired the newly published graphic novel Eclipse: The Story of an Expedition (Затмение. История одной экспедиции). Its author, Anna Rusinova, will talk about how the idea for a comic about courageous and determined women – who embarked on a risky scientific expedition in 1914 – came to life. She will discuss the roles played by the First World War, Albert Einstein, and deeply rooted social prejudice in this story. Anna will share why the book took the form of a comic and how the illustrations, made by artist Lidya Lytaeva, were created to convey a sense of documentary authenticity.

Join the discussion on how courage and scientific ambition can challenge discrimination, as well as the unique potential of comics as a genre for exploring science and history.

Anna Rusinova is a writer and sociologist. She graduated from the Faculty of Sociology at Saint Petersburg State University, where she defended her master’s thesis on the “women’s question.” She has continued her research on the history of the struggle for women’s rights, with a particular focus on women’s education in Russia. Her work on the establishment of the Higher Women’s (Bestuzhev) Courses formed the basis of her first graphic novel Bestuzhevki: The First Women’s University (Бестужевки. Первый женский университет), published in 2021.

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