The Department of Russian and Czech at the University of Bristol will host a symposium titled HIV in the Soviet Union & Russia: Towards a Cultural History, to take place in hybrid form at the University of Bristol, and online, on Monday 16 June, 2025, 3pm – 5pm.

The event will feature Irina Roldugina (Bristol) and Katerina Suverina (Konstanz), who will be introducing their recently published book Вспышка: неизвестная история ВИЧ в СССР [The Outbreak: The Unknown History of HIV in the USSR] (2024), as well as reflections by LGBTQ+ and HIV activists Gennady Roshchupkin (now based in Kyiv) and Evgeniy Pisemskiy (now based in Bristol). Connor Doak (Bristol) is organizer and chair.

The symposium will take place from 3pm - 5pm on Monday 16 June 2025 in Lecture Theatre G.01, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UU, and online via Zoom. Attendance is free and open to all. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail connor.doak@bristol.ac.uk, who will provide the Zoom link (for those planning to attend online), and directions to the venue for those coming in person.

The symposium is sponsored by BASEES (The British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies), UCFL (The University Council for Languages), and the University of Bristol.