Robert Skidelsky, the award-winning British author and economic historian, died last Wednesday of a brain infection. He was 86.

Subscribe Today

Get daily emails in your inbox

Email Address:

Skidlesky, best known for his widely acclaimed three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes, was a professor of international studies and political economy at the University of Warwick. A founding member of the Social Democratic Party, he was elevated to the peerage in 1991 and sat in the House of Lords.

Of Russian extraction, Skidelsky in his later years relearned the language and advocated for a better British understanding of Russia. He opposed Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine but was also critical of NATO’s expansion eastward to Russia’s doorstep, before the war.

Skidlesky was a contributor to The American Conservative.