Peter John Frank (6 May 1934 - 14 November 2013)[1] was a professor of Russian politics in the Department of Government at the University of Essex and a media commentator on Russian affairs.
[2] He was born in Whitby, Yorkshire and after leaving school in 1950 did national service in the Army where he learnt the Russian language.
[3] He then trained as a teacher and did post-graduate work at the University of Leeds, before becoming a lecturer at the University of Essex in 1968.
[4] He was known for his television appearances on Channel 4 News as an expert on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
After his retirement as a professor he was a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Essex and wrote a biography of Joseph Richard Bagshawe, the founding secretary of the Staithes group of painters.