Hélène Carrère d'Encausse

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse (born Hélène Zourabichvili; 6 July 1929 in Paris) is a French historian. She is the permanent secretary of the Académie française. She is a well known historian in specializing in Russian history. She was a recipient of Lomonosov Gold Medal in 2008.
Carrère d'Encausse is a graduate of the elite Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris ("Sciences Po").
She was elected to seat 14 of the Académie française in 1990, and her academician's sword was made by the sculptor Goudji. She became permanent secretary on 21 October 1999.
In her book "L'Empire éclaté" published in 1978 she predicted the fall of the Soviet Union.
She was awarded Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2011).