Alexis Peri is an Associate Professor of History at Boston University, specializing in modern Russian and Soviet history, with a focus on war, gender, and private life. Her work bridges cultural history, environmental history, and transnational studies. She holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research explores Soviet beauty pageants, US-Soviet women’s correspondence, and environmental dimensions of the Crimean War (co-authored with Catherine Ashcraft). Major publications include The War Within: Diaries from the Siege of Leningrad (2017) and Dear Unknown Friend: the Remarkable Correspondence between American and Soviet Women (2024). Dr. Peri has received the 2018 Pushkin House Book Prize, 2019 Gitner Teaching Prize, and 2024 Metcalf Award. Her research has been supported by the Fulbright Program, Kennan Institute, and others. She teaches undergraduate courses on Russian/Soviet history and directs multiple collaborative research projects.
Svitlana Antonyuk-Yudina serves as a Lise Meitner senior postdoctoral researcher at the University of Graz, Austria, within the Institute of German Studies under the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project M 3361-G "Deriving Discourse Configurationality of (East) Slavic" led by Prof. Victor Edgar Onea Gaspar. Her research centers on syntax-semantics interfaces , argument structure , and information structure in East Slavic languages (Ukrainian and Russian), with specific expertise in quantification, Instrumental syntax, Object Shift phenomena, and the realization of Givenness/Focus. Current investigations explore aspect-argument structure relations in East Slavic and cross-linguistic scope freezing, while her interests increasingly extend to generative typology and contact-induced language change. Dr. Antonyuk-Yudina holds the prestigious Lise Meitner Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). She is actively engaged in the FWF project M 3361-G and co-edits two Special Collection volumes for Glossa: a journal of general linguistics , with experimental work mapping East Slavic syntactic structures to prosodic realization upcoming.
Professor Emma Widdis is a leading scholar at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, specializing in the intersection of Soviet cinema, ideology, and cultural geography. Her work explores the reeducation of sensory perception through film, early Soviet urban spaces, and the construction of subjectivity via cinematic techniques. Teaches 20th-century Russian/Soviet literature, cinema, and film theory Focuses on sensory engagement, political avant-garde, and urban spatial representation Supervisor for MPhil and PhD students in Slavonic Studies Her recent book Socialist Senses (2017) examines how cinema shaped Soviet perceptions of reality. Her publications span topics like silence in sound film, set design materiality, and costume symbolism in early Soviet cinema. While no formal scientific awards are listed, her research has been supported through institutional grants and collaborations with centers like CRASSH and Cambridge Language Sciences.
Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of BonnGermany
Gül Şen is a Senior Lecturer and Privatdozentin at the Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Bonn, and also serves as a Lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Her academic work focuses on premodern Ottoman history, historiography, and the dynamics of dependency, particularly in maritime contexts such as galley slavery and war captivity. She is actively involved in major research programs including the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica' and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies. Her research areas include: Premodern Ottoman historiography and narrative strategies Legitimacy of rule and political transitions Maritime unfree labor and galley slavery War captivity and captivity narratives in the 18th century Dependency and asymmetrical power relations in the early modern Mediterranean Her recent publications reveal a strong thematic trend centered on the interplay between narrative construction and social power, particularly in contexts of slavery and captivity. She investigates how historical actors used storytelling to assert legitimacy, cope with crises, and negotiate identity. Her work bridges literary analysis with social history, offering nuanced understandings of agency within systems of dependency. She frequently collaborates with leading scholars like Stephan Conermann and contributes to major edited volumes and series in Ottoman studies. Her scientific awards include: DAAD Award for outstanding academic achievements (2012) Postdoctoral Scholarship from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (2012–2013) Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg (2015–2016, 2018–2019) Postdoctoral Scholarship from the University of Bonn (2019–2020) She has supervised numerous B.A. and M.A. theses at the University of Bonn and Heidelberg and has secured third-party funding, including a DFG project (€192,000) from 2016–2018 and Fritz Thyssen Foundation grants. She is co-editor of the 'Ottoman Studies' and 'Otto Spies Memorial Series' book series, and holds leadership roles in the Society for Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies (GTOT) and the International Association for Ottoman Social and Economic History (IAOSEH). Her academic activities are deeply embedded in collaborative and interdisciplinary research environments. She is affiliated with the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and contributes to the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica,' where she examines mobility dynamics and captivity narratives. Her work is supported by a strong network of international collaborations and editorial engagements.
Maria Gouskova is a Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics, New York University (NYU). She is affiliated with the College of Arts and Science and holds editorial roles as an Associate Editor of Language and board member of NLLT and Phonology . Her research focuses on phonology, morphology, and lexicon, with a particular emphasis on morphophonological interactions, sublexicons, and phonotactic constraints. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2003) and a B.A. in English Linguistics and German Language/Literature from Eastern Michigan University (1998). Her work bridges theoretical phonology and experimental methods, addressing questions such as how phonological patterns interact with morphology, the role of sublexical phonotactics in grammatical processes, and the learnability of complex segmental inventories. Recent research includes studies on Russian diminutive affixes, gradient phonological constraints, and the phonological properties of compounds. Her publications span topics like allomorphy, lexical phonology, and the typology of morpheme structure constraints. She frequently collaborates on projects investigating the interplay between syntax, phonology, and morphology, as seen in studies of Russian prepositions and compound stress patterns. Her contributions to phonological theory include advancing models of sublexicon theory and nonlocal constraint induction.
Victor Chestopal serves as Professor of Piano and Chairman of the Keyboard Section at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels since 2020, with concurrent professorship at Italy's Accademia Perosi. A globally recognized performer, he has collaborated with orchestras including the Moscow Philharmonic and Helsinki Philharmonic, and performed at venues like Brussels' Palais des Beaux-Arts and Moscow Conservatoire. His educational background includes: Early training at Moscow's Gnessin Music School and Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire Master's degree from Sibelius Academy (2001) Doctor of Music from Sibelius Academy (2010) with thesis "Temporal correlation in the Goldberg Variations" Studies at Imola's Accademia Pianistica (1992-1997) and Weimar's Hochschule für Musik (1995-1997) Chestopal's research integrates performance practice with musicological analysis, focusing on structural interpretation of Baroque and Romantic repertoire. His scholarly work examines temporal relationships in canonical piano works, while his artistic output spans Early Music, Contemporary Theatre, and Jazz Education. As a multilingual poet publishing in Russian, Italian, and French, he bridges musical and literary arts through collections like "Anno" (2014) and "Poeticheskie dnevniki" (2018). His honors include: First Prize at the “Carlo Soliva” International Competition (1990) As an educator since 2007, Chestopal conducts annual masterclasses in Liège and serves on international competition juries. He actively mentors students across European conservatories while leading charity initiatives for organizations including "Save the Children" and "Mary's Meals", often performing benefit concerts for humanitarian causes.
Assoc. Prof. Tatyana Yordanova is affiliated with the National Academy of Sports in Bulgaria, where she serves in the Faculty of Sports and Department of Technical and Ice Sports . She holds the academic rank of Associate Professor and has been leading the department since 2024. Education: Master's from State Central Institute of Physical Culture (1987); Doctorate in Sports Science (2019) Languages: English, Italian, Russian Her research focuses on technical elements in figure skating , speed-power abilities , balance stability , and judging systems . She has extensively studied jump mechanics and anthropometric factors in skaters. Her publications from 2018-2024 include studies on judging systems, jump techniques, and sports management. Key themes in her work involve training methodology, competition analytics, and biomechanics of skating. Since 2002, she has worked as an international figure skating judge, including at the Sochi 2014 Olympics . She chaired the Bulgarian Skating Federation (2011-2023) and participated in projects like Erasmus+ mobility (2022, 2024). Her pedagogical career includes roles as scientific assistant (1988), senior assistant (2006), and associate professor (2023).
Harsha Ram is an Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on Russian and European Enlightenment, modernist literature, and the cultural histories of the Caucasus region. He holds dual B.A. Honors degrees in Italian and Russian from the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Yale University. His work bridges literary theory, post-colonial studies, and geopoetics, with a particular emphasis on Georgia's literary modernism and its intersections with Russian imperial culture. Key themes include spatial theory, peripheral modernisms, and the transnational dimensions of cultural production. Recent work examines the role of ritual feasts in Georgian national identity and the geopoetics of Eurasian avant-garde movements. Ram has published extensively on figures like Velimir Khlebnikov and Boris Pasternak, exploring their engagement with imperial legacies and revolutionary aesthetics. His book The Imperial Sublime: A Russian Poetics of Empire (2003) remains a seminal study of Russian imperial poetics. Current projects include studies on Georgian literary encounters with Russian culture and the symbolic dimensions of Caucasus representations. His scholarship frequently appears in leading journals such as Modernism/Modernity , Slavic Review , and Ab Imperio . He has held visiting positions at institutions globally and actively participates in interdisciplinary dialogues between literary studies, history, and cultural geography.
Kate Holland is an Associate Professor and Acting Associate Chair (Graduate) at the University of Toronto, specializing in 19th-century Russian literature and its cultural contexts. Her work focuses on the history of the novel, Russian literary theory, and the interplay between Russian and European literary traditions. She teaches courses such as 'The Golden Age of Russian Literature' and 'Dostoevsky in Literary Criticism and Theory.' Dr. Holland earned her PhD from Yale University (2004) and a BA/MA from the University of Cambridge (1998). Her research explores themes like genre evolution in Dostoevsky’s works, the publication culture of 19th-century Russian periodicals, and the theoretical frameworks of Historical Poetics. Her recent publications include A Dostoevskii Companion: Texts and Contexts (2018) and The Novel in the Age of Disintegration (2013), analyzing Dostoevsky’s engagement with genre and modernity. Her scholarship frequently examines narrative form, cultural history, and the intersection of literature with philosophical and religious thought.
Prof. Dr. Olena Palko is a historian specializing in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine. She holds the SNSF Professorship at the University of Basel's Department of History, focusing on East European History. Her research emphasizes Soviet minority policies, cultural politics, and national identity formation in interwar Ukraine. She is a leading scholar with notable works including Making Ukraine Soviet (2021), awarded the 2023 Alexander Nove Prize. Her current SNF-funded project, Red Tower of Babel , examines Soviet minority experiments in Ukraine. Education: PhD from University of East Anglia (2017); Kandydat nauk from National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2013). Research Interests: Soviet nationality policy, minority history, Ukrainian twentieth-century history, transnational border dynamics. Her work bridges archival analysis with transnational perspectives, addressing contested borderlands between Poland and the USSR. Key publications include co-edited volumes like Making Ukraine (2022) and Ukraine's Many Faces (2023). She actively contributes to academic governance roles, including co-convening the BASEES Study Group for Minority History and serving on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Council of Europe's history observatory.
Norman M. Naimark serves as the Robert & Florence McDonnell Professor of East European Studies and Professor of History at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in German Studies. He holds senior fellowships at both the Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and is affiliated with The Europe Center and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Education: Ph.D. in History, Stanford University (1972) Naimark specializes in Soviet-era Eastern European history, with dual research pillars: Soviet policies in post-WWII Europe and 20th-century genocide/ethnic cleansing phenomena. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary human rights discourse, emphasizing geopolitical power dynamics and systematic violence against civilian populations. Methodologically, he combines archival rigor with comparative frameworks across national contexts. His publication trajectory from 1979–2019 reveals evolving focus from Marxist movements in partitioned Poland to Soviet occupation mechanics, culminating in comprehensive genocide studies. The 2019 monograph on Stalin's postwar European sovereignty struggles synthesizes decades of research into Soviet imperial practices. Scientific awards: Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1996) Richard W. Lyman Award for outstanding faculty volunteer service (1995) Stanford Dean's Teaching Award (1991-92, 2002-3) Naimark's academic leadership includes directing Stanford's Global Studies Division, Bing Overseas Studies Program, and Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. His research informs current policy discussions on authoritarianism and democratic resilience, as evidenced by recent engagements with Belarusian democracy movements and U.S.-Russia relations. He collaborates extensively through Stanford's interdisciplinary centers, particularly contributing historical perspectives to The Europe Center's sovereignty research and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law's governance initiatives.
Andrew Radin is a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation and Associate Director of the Master of National Security Policy Program at the RAND School of Public Policy. His work focuses on European security, military activities in space, and state-building, with expertise in NATO, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Ph.D. in Political Science, MIT B.A. in Political Science and Mathematics, University of Chicago Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California His research centers on European and Eurasian security , military strategy , and state-building in weak states . He emphasizes the role of local politics in institution-building and has conducted case studies in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Timor-Leste, and Ukraine. His work explores hybrid warfare, deterrence, security sector reform, and U.S. policy toward Russia and China. His recent publications reveal a strong trend in analyzing space as a domain of military competition , NATO deterrence strategies , and Russian gray-zone aggression . Topics frequently include escalation dynamics, allied cooperation, and the future of the liberal international order. His research combines policy relevance with academic rigor. Scientific Contributions and Recognition: Author of Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics (Georgetown University Press) Published in Security Studies , Journal of Conflict Resolution , Washington Quarterly , and War on the Rocks Contributor to high-impact RAND reports on Ukraine, NATO, Russia, and international order Andrew Radin has advised on national security policy, including serving as Country Director for Afghanistan in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He previously taught as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He has not received mention of specific grants or student advisees, but his leadership in the Master of National Security Policy program suggests mentorship and program development responsibilities. He is active in shaping U.S. defense and foreign policy through research and commentary. Laboratories, Teams, and Research Groups: He is affiliated with the RAND Corporation’s international security research division and contributes to projects on global competition, military strategy, and political warfare. His work is often collaborative, involving multidisciplinary teams focused on defense policy and strategic stability.
Dr Rod Thornton is a Senior Lecturer in Russian Defence and Security Studies at King’s College London, affiliated with the Defence Studies Department and School of Security Studies. He specializes in the Russian military's kinetic and sub-threshold warfare, with a focus on cyber capabilities, space warfare, and UK homeland resilience. His research includes recent British Academy-funded work on UK civil defense capacity during the pandemic, advocating for dedicated civil defense organizations. He has published extensively on Russian military tactics in Ukraine, AI-cyber integration, and space-based deterrence. Russian military cyber operations Space warfare dynamics UK resilience capacity gaps Scientific awards include a British Academy grant (2020). His students focus on asymmetric warfare, AI, cyber, and regional security issues. He teaches at the UK Defence Academy and has collaborated with institutions in Finland, South Korea, and the Freeman Air and Space Institute.
Professor Todd Squires is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, within the Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering. His research focuses on the fundamental principles of transport phenomena as applied to interfaces, membranes, and complex fluids, employing theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches to address significant challenges in micro-scale fluid mechanics. Dr. Squires' educational background includes: BS in Physics, UCLA (1995) BA in Russian Language and Literature, UCLA (1995) PhD in Physics, Harvard University (2002) His research interests span microfluidics and electrokinetics, active and nonlinear microrheology of complex materials, polymer dynamics and sensors, with particular emphasis on non-linear electrokinetic flows, interfacial rheology, and the self-assembly of nanostructured materials. His work bridges fundamental fluid mechanics with practical applications in microfluidic devices, energy storage, and biomedical systems, demonstrating the versatility of this fascinating field. Analysis of Professor Squires' recent publications reveals a consistent focus on interfacial phenomena, with particular attention to the rheological properties of fluid interfaces, particle dynamics in complex fluids, and novel microfluidic techniques for measuring and manipulating these systems. His research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between chemical engineering, physics, and materials science, with applications spanning energy storage, biomedical engineering, and environmental systems. Professor Squires has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: 2018 Robert W. Vaughan Lecture in Chemical Engineering, Caltech 2015 Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society 2013 Mid-Career Award, American Electrophoresis Society 2012 The Dudley Saville Memorial Lecture at Princeton 2010 Pierre Gilles de Gennes Prize 2010 Allan P. Colburn Memorial Lectureship, University of Delaware 2009 Francois Frenkiel Award for Fluid Mechanics 2009 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award 2008 Beckman Young Investigator 2007 NSF CAREER Award 2005 'Rising Star' - Chronicle of Higher Education As principal investigator of the Squires Group, Professor Squires leads a dynamic research team that combines experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches to investigate transport phenomena at interfaces. His work has been supported by major funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, with his CAREER award indicating early recognition of his potential as both researcher and educator. While specific grant details aren't provided in the source material, his extensive publication record and prestigious awards suggest robust and sustained research funding. The Squires Group maintains state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for studying micro-scale fluid mechanics, including specialized equipment for microrheology measurements, microfluidic device fabrication, and interfacial characterization. Their research environment fosters collaboration across disciplines, with connections to materials science, physics, and biomedical engineering researchers at UCSB and beyond.
Dr. Sebastian Rimestad is a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Religions , University of Leipzig. His work focuses on Orthodox Christianity, religious history of Eastern and Northern Europe, religious conversion, religion and politics in modern societies, and religious minorities in Europe. Current affiliation: University of Leipzig Education: Habilitation (2019), PhD (2011), MA in Religious Studies (2007) and Politics & IR (2004) Research interests include confessional identity formation in 18th-century Poland-Lithuania, religious conversion as political statement, and Russian Orthodox concepts of secularity. His work analyzes how religious identities have been shaped by external authorities and critiques of religious modernity. His scientific awards include the DFG Heisenberg Fellowship and Liselotte Kirchner Scholarship. He has taught courses on religious conversion and published extensively on Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe, Baltic states, and global contexts.
