Sam Johnson Memorial Lecture 2025

In partnership with Manchester Centre for Public Histories and Heritage, Manchester Histories is delighted to host the annual Sam Johnson Memorial Lecture at the Hub, Manchester Central Library, on Thursday 4 December 2025, 6–8pm.

In his important book, Friends and Comrades: How Quakers helped Russians to survive famine and epidemic, Sergei Nikitin documents the relief work done by British and American Quakers in Russia during and after the First World War, during the Famine in the Volga basin area. Providing emergency relief, medical aid, and food, Quakers provided essential care to many thousands of the War refugees and ordinary Russians in 1916-1931. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, diaries, and memoirs, the book explores the fraught relationship between the Friends and the Russian state officials.

In this lecture, Sergei presents a story never before told in Russia or in the West: how the Religious Society of Friends worked in Russia under the Tsarist government and the Bolsheviks for 15 years in the 20th century. As the British historian Robert Service said: “Sergei has written an exemplary, vivid, and well-researched account of the Quaker relief mission to Russia.”

Sergei Nikitin was born in Gomel, USSR, in 1957. He studied the physics of semiconductors at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and worked at scientific research institutes in Leningrad and Gatchina. Sergei has been involved in historical research work on the Quakers in Russia since 1996. In 1999, he started his job for an international Quaker organisation Friends House Moscow as a director of the office. From 2003 he had worked as the Head of Amnesty International representative office in Russia for 14 years. In June 2017 Sergei retired and moved with his family to High Peak, Derbyshire, UK. His book “When Quakers Were Saving Russia” (in Russian) was published in Moscow in 2020. It was published in the UK - titled “Friends and Comrades. How Quakers helped Russians to survive famine and epidemics” - in 2022.

Hybrid Event Information

This is a hybrid event. We warmly encourage you to join us in person at Manchester Histories Hub, where you will have the opportunity to meet the author, purchase a copy of the book, and have it signed.

For those unable to attend in person, an online attendance option is available. A link to join will be emailed to registered attendees in the days leading up to the event.

Accessibility

The event will take place in the Manchester Histories Hub on the Lower Ground Floor of Manchester Central Library. There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, head over to the Central Library website for more information to help you plan your visit.

We endeavour to ensure this event is open to all, so welcome you to contact us regarding any specific requirements you may have before the event.

Email: info@manchesterhistories.co.uk

Call: 0161 306 1982.

Event Capacity

Due to the popularity of this event, tickets are in high demand. If you've booked a ticket but can no longer attend, please let us know as soon as possible by emailing info@manchesterhistories.co.uk. This will allow us to offer your place to someone on our waiting list.

Seating is unallocated for this event so please arrive promptly to take your seat.

Donations

This event is free to attend, but you're welcome to make a donation to Manchester Histories by visiting our website. Every donation, no matter what size, can make a big difference by directly supporting our small charity, helping us continue our community engagement and year-long programme of events.

Data Gathering

When registering for this event we will ask you some optional questions about your age, gender, ethnicity, disability and postcode. Gathering this information helps us to report back to our funders and enables us to better understand our audiences so we can ensure we reach as many people as possible now and in the future. The information is given anonymously.