Penn Professor Benjamin Nathans awarded Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.

The prestigious Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for 2025 has been awarded to Benjamin Nathans, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Nathans has garnered this distinction for his critically acclaimed work, “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement,” which examines the evolution of dissent in the Soviet Union from the era following Joseph Stalin’s death up until the collapse of communism.

This recognition comes with a monetary award of ,000. The Pulitzer Prize honors authors for their distinguished and thoroughly documented contributions to nonfiction literature, specifically from American writers. Nathans holds the title of Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where he specializes in Imperial Russian and Soviet history, modern Jewish history, and the history of human rights.

Published by Princeton University Press in 2023, “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause” delves deeply into the initiatives and ideologies surrounding rights and the rule of law under the framework of Soviet socialism. The Pulitzer citation describes the book as a “prodigiously researched and revealing history of Soviet dissent,” highlighting its portrayal of both the suppression and resilience of these movements, which were driven by courageous individuals striving for fundamental freedoms and rights.

Nathans brings a wealth of academic experience to his work, having joined the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor in 1998. His scholarly journey began with a focus on Jewish Studies and history at Indiana University. He has also contributed to academia across various prestigious institutions worldwide, including stints at École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris and University College London.

Nathans’s previous work, “Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter With Late Imperial Russia,” received significant accolades, including the Koret Prize in Jewish History. His scholarly contributions extend to regular writings in influential publications such as the New York Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement, where he is also recognized as a knowledgeable commentator on contemporary Russian affairs.

The 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalists included notable works such as Rollo Romig’s “I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist’s Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India” and Rachel Nolan’s “Until I Find You: Disappeared Children and Coercive Adoptions in Guatemala.” The breadth of topics showcased in this year’s nominees underscores the continuing relevance and urgency of nonfiction narratives in today’s literary landscape.

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