R. W. Davies
Robert William Davies (23 April 1925 – 13 April 2021), better known as R. W. Davies or Bob Davies, was a British historian, writer and professor of Soviet Economic Studies at the University of Birmingham. Obtaining his PhD in 1954, Davies was promoted to full professor and made chair of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) at the University of Birmingham in 1965. He retired from active teaching in 1989. A collaborator and co-author with historian E. H. Carr on two volumes of his 14-volume "History of Soviet Russia", Davies is best known  for having carried Carr's work forward into the 1930s with seven additional volumes of economic history under the general title "The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia". Biography. Early years. During World War II, Davies served in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1946. He was stationed in the Middle East from 1945 to 1946. Academic career. Davies obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London in 1950. He subsequently attended the University of Birmingham, where he obtained his PhD in 1954 in Commerce and Social Science under  the supervision of historian Alexander Baykov. After completing his PhD, Davies was appointed to a post as assistant lecturer at the Institute of Soviet Studies at the University of Glasgow, where he would remain until his return to the University of Birmingham in 1956. At Birmingham Davies held a succession of academic titles, including Research Fellow, Lecturer, and Senior Lecturer. Davies was appointed a professor of Soviet Economic Studies by the University of Birmingham in 1965. In 1963, Davies was named the first director of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) at the University of Birmingham — a  post which he would retain until 1978. Davies retired in 1989 and was named Senior Fellow and Emeritus Professor by the university upon his departure from active teaching. His research contributions in the history of the Soviet Union are recognized by the peers. Davies' papers are housed in the Special Collections department of the University of Birmingham. A temporary register of the Davies' collection, contained in 70 archival boxes, is available. Davies died in April 2021 at the age of 95.