This is a short extract from Prof. Franklin's lecture at the Alumni Weekend 2006.

Russia is the biggest country on the planet yet, despite its relative openness since the fall of Communism, it remains one of the most enigmatic. Is it really what we imagine it to be? Indeed, was it ever what outsiders - or even its own inhabitants - have imagined it to be?

Professor Simon Franklin is a Fellow of Clare College, Professor of Slavonic Studies and the Head of the Department of Slavonic Studies.

He is also the author of numerous books and articles on Russian history, literature and culture.