Professor Natasha A. Reed of Cambridge passed away on April 29, 2026, at the age of 74.
Born in St. Peterburg, Russia Natasha came to the United States at a young age looking for a better way of life.
She earned her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages & Literatures from Harvard University in 1994 and held Assistant Professorships at College of the Holy Cross and Princeton University.
Natasha then went on to spend much of her brilliant career in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard. She served as Lecturer (2000 – 2003) and Preceptor (2003 – 2014), before moving to the Harvard Division of Continuing Education as a Continuing Education/Special Programs Instructor (2009 – 2017).
Over more than two decades in the classroom, she guided students through every level of Russian—from beginning and intensive sequences to advanced conversation, grammar, literature, and poetry, as well as specialized courses for heritage speakers and instructors. Perhaps her greatest gift was the way she drew students into the stories and poems they read in class, building their language skills while simultaneously nurturing a love of Russian literature.
Natasha will be greatly missed by her close friends, colleagues and the many students that she taught over the years.
Currently all services are private.