Natalya Naumenko

Natalya Naumenko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at George Mason University. She specializes in economic history and political economy, with a focus on the Soviet Union and post-Soviet regions. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2018 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University's Political Theory Project. Her research examines Soviet agricultural policies, famine causality, and long-term economic impacts of historical events.

Her work on the 1932-33 Ukrainian famine (Holodomor) has received significant attention, including the 2025 Conquest Prize. Key findings include anti-Ukrainian biases in Soviet policies and the role of migration restrictions in exacerbating mortality. She also investigates industrialization strategies, privatization outcomes in post-Soviet Russia, and the economic consequences of nuclear explosions in the USSR.

Naumenko’s research combines archival data with econometric analysis, addressing topics like Soviet agricultural collectivization, famine mortality drivers, and the unintended effects of state policies. Her current projects explore the 1922 Soviet famine, organized crime's role in Russian privatization, and the legacy of industrial nuclear explosions.