Vasily Grossman’s Experience of World War Two w/ Robert Chandler, at Columbia University's Harriman Institute

The Columbia Harriman Institute invites community members and the wider public to join Robert Chandler, the prolific translator and editor of 19th and 20th century Russian literature, for a discussion of Vasily Grossman—the Russian novelist, short story writer, and, of particular interest here, combat journalist who covered all the major battles of the Eastern Front during the Second World War. This event is free and open to the public. Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on October 29, 2025 in order to attend this event.

In recent years, versions of Grossman's articles that had not been distorted by censors have been unearthed. Robert Chandler, in conversation with Columbia Slavic Languages Department Chair and Professor Mark Lipovetsky, will demonstrate what an extraordinary amount Grossman witnessed during only a few years.

Robert Chandler is the translator or co-translator of every one of the six titles by Vasily Grossman published by NYRB Classics, including An Armenian Sketchbook, Everything Flows, Stalingrad, Life and Fate, and The Road. His translation of Grossman's Dispatches from the Front Line: Staigrade - Treblinka - Berlin, 1941-1945, will be published by NYRB Classics in April 2026.