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Dr. Margarita Vaysman is an Associate Professor of Russophone Literature, Thought, and Culture (1820–1945) at the University of Oxford, serving as a Tutorial Fellow at New College and a Lecturer at Jesus and Merton Colleges. She holds MPhil and DPhil degrees from Wadham College, Oxford, and a к.ф.н. (Candidate of Philological Sciences) from Perm State University. Her academic leadership roles include chairing the National Research and Development Committee for BASEES and co-convening its 19th-Century Study Group. Her research focuses on 19th-century Russian literature, particularly Realist fiction, and the history of gender and sexuality. Key works include Self-Conscious Realism: Metafiction and the Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel (2021) and an upcoming monograph on queer and transgender erasure in Russian culture. She co-edits The Oxford Handbook of Global Realisms (OUP). Teaching spans undergraduate Russian literature (with emphasis on 19th-century texts and gender studies) and postgraduate supervision in gender/queer theory, Realist novels, and Ukrainian/Russian cultural contexts. Her work is supported by grants from the British Council, British Academy, and others. Recent publications analyze transgender narratives in historical texts and re-evaluate socialist realist canons. Grants and awards include funding from UKRI, CEELBAS, and Princeton/Columbia Universities. She actively contributes to academic discourse through peer-reviewed journals and public engagement initiatives.

• Russian Literature
• Gender Studies
• Queer Theory
• +3 more

Natasha Rulyova is an Associate Professor in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. She specializes in translation studies, post-Soviet media, and genre theory. Her research focuses on collaborative self-translation, notably analyzing Joseph Brodsky’s bilingual works. She has led AHRC-funded projects like the Genre Studies Network (2012-2013) and currently leads a project integrating literature into A-level history curricula. Rulyova has extensive experience in media commentary, appearing on BBC Radio and contributing to The Conversation. Education: MPhil in European Literature and PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge. Previously worked as a Research Fellow on Post-Soviet Television Culture (2002-2006) before joining Birmingham’s CREES in 2006. Holds the role of Russian Language Lead since 2013. Research Interests: Self-translation mechanisms and collaborative processes Russian media culture under Putin Genre theory’s interdisciplinary applications Russophone literary diversity Key Publications: Joseph Brodsky and Collaborative Translation (Bloomsbury, 2020) Genre Trajectories: Identifying, Mapping, Projecting (Palgrave, 2015) Television and Culture in Putin’s Russia: Remote Control (Routledge, 2009) Contributions: Organized international workshops on genre studies and media research methodologies. Engaged in public lectures, including a 2023 discussion with Guzel Yakhina on contemporary Russophone literature.

• Self-translation
• Collaborative Translation
• Post-Soviet Media Studies
• +4 more

Dr. Tamar Koplatadze is an Associate Professor in Russian at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. Her research focuses on Russian, Caucasus, and Central Asian literature and film, with expertise in 19th-century Russian literature, post-Soviet Russophone culture, and postcolonial theory. She is a leading figure in Russian Postcolonial Studies and currently works on Post-Soviet Ecopoetics , a comparative study of ecocritical works from Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Research Interests: Postcolonial identities in post-Soviet literatures Ecocritical approaches to post-Soviet cultural production Gender and women’s writing in Russian emigration Comparative analysis of Soviet and post-Soviet cultural narratives Media Engagements: BBC Art and Ideas: 'Russia and Fear' (2019) discusses postcolonial perspectives on Soviet imperialism BBC Free Thinking: 'Sesame Street and Soviet Culture' (2023) explores post-Soviet literary memory Supervision & Grants: Supervises PhD topics on 19th-century literary anthologies, post-Soviet ecocriticism, and women’s writing in Russian emigration. No grants explicitly listed. Languages: Fluent in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Modern Greek, Czech, Polish, Catalan, Galician, Yiddish, and Other Slavonic languages.

• Russian Postcolonial Studies
• Post-Soviet Literature and Film
• 19th Century Russian Literature
• +5 more

Dr Claire Whitehead is an Associate Professor in the Russian Department at the University of St Andrews, within the School of Modern Languages. She specializes in Russophone literature and culture, with a focus on crime fiction, the fantastic, and narrative theory. Her research highlights the sociohistorical context of 19th-century Russian literature, particularly through projects like 'Lost Detectives: Adapting Old Texts for New Media' , a collaboration with artist Carol Adlam. She holds a BA (Hons) in Russian and French from the University of Bristol (1995) and a PhD in Russian and French from the same institution (2002). Her teaching spans beginner Russian language courses to advanced modules on crime fiction and comparative literature. She has been awarded the St Andrews Public Engagement with Research Collaboration Award (2019) and the St Andrews Students Association Prize for Outstanding Dissertation Supervisor (2023). Her research outputs include monographs like The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction (2018) and articles exploring gender dynamics in late imperial Russian crime narratives. She actively supervises PhD students and leads interdisciplinary projects, such as graphic novel adaptations of forgotten texts and podcast initiatives.

• Crime Fiction
• Russophone Literature
• The Fantastic
• +4 more

Dr James Rann (commonly known as Jamie Rann) is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Modern Languages & Cultures at the University of Glasgow. His academic career spans multiple UK institutions including the universities of Birmingham, Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, and UCL, where he completed his doctoral research at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Dr Rann's research centers on Russophone modernist literature, particularly Futurism in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. His first book, The Unlikely Futurist (2020), examined originality in avant-garde poetry from 1910-1930. His scholarly interests encompass lifewriting, nonsense literature, literature and architecture, and the influence of Russian modernism on Scottish literature through translation into Scots. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, his work has pivoted toward practical applications including creative workshops for Ukrainian refugees in Glasgow ( Власними словами | In Our Own Words ) and rethinking approaches to Russian studies ( From the Ground Up ). His extensive publication record demonstrates expertise across Russian literary modernism, contemporary cultural analysis, and translation studies. Recent work shows particular attention to Ukrainian resistance, multilingual expression, and decolonial perspectives on Russian studies. As an educator, Dr Rann teaches Russian language for beginners, Russian Culture courses, translation from Russian, and topics including fairy tales, Soviet cinema, and concepts of space in global modernism. He actively supervises PhD students on projects related to early Soviet literature, Russophone poetry, clothes and culture in Russian contexts, and literary translation. Co-convenor of Histories and Subjectivities research cluster Co-convenor of Modernism, Avant-Garde and Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture cluster Member of Advisory Board for the Edwin Morgan Trust

• Russophone modernist literature
• Russian Futurism
• Avant-garde poetry
• +7 more

Dr Natalia (Natasha) Rulyova is an Associate Professor in Russian within the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and has held academic positions since 2002, including roles at the University of Surrey and the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES). Her research focuses on Russophone literature, translation studies, post-Soviet media culture, and genre studies , with a recent emphasis on collaborative self-translation and decolonial approaches in contemporary literature. She has launched a series of author interviews with notable figures like Guzel Yakhina and Hamid Ismailov through Pushkin House. Education: PhD in European Literature (University of Cambridge, Trinity College) MPhil in European Literature (University of Cambridge) BA in Modern Languages (Perm State University, Russia) Research Interests: Dr Rulyova’s work bridges literary and media studies, examining self-translation practices in Joseph Brodsky’s bilingual poetry and analyzing minoritized voices in post-Soviet Russophone literature . Her projects often involve interdisciplinary collaboration, such as the AHRC-funded Genre Studies Network (2012) and media research initiatives with BBC and CEELBAS grants. Teaching: She leads Russian language modules and specializes in advanced literary analysis courses covering 19th-century Russian novelists like Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. She also teaches cross-disciplinary modules on European film and migration narratives. Awards & Grants: Recipient of a 2009 teaching award, multiple CEELBAS grants (totaling £50k+), and an AHRC Research Networking Grant (£31k). Her monograph Joseph Brodsky and Collaborative Self-Translation (2020) has been praised for redefining translation studies methodologies. Supervision: Successfully supervised 5 PhD students focusing on topics ranging from ISIS discourse analysis to Russian soft power. Current advisees include research on African feminist authors in Russian translation. Public Engagement: Regular contributor to BBC media analyses and The Conversation , with a UoB podcast appearance. Active in public seminars and interdisciplinary workshops linking academia with practitioners.

• Russophone literature
• Translation Studies
• Post-Soviet Media Culture
• +5 more

Dr. Isobel Palmer is a Lecturer in Russian within the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. She holds a PhD and MA from the University of California, Berkeley (Slavic Languages and Literatures), and a BA from the University of Cambridge (Russian and German). Her research focuses on 20th-century Russian poetry and literary theory, particularly Russian Formalism, modernist performance cultures, and intersections between literature and visual arts. Current projects explore poetry's social circulation through performance and multilingualism in post-Soviet contexts. She teaches Russian language, translation, and cultural studies modules. Palmer is Co-Investigator on the BRIDGE-funded 'Russophone Literary Diversity' project and has held roles including Subject Liaison for Russian and Summer Course Tutor. Research interests include Russian modernist poetry's relationship with urban environments, media theory, and creative communities. Recent work examines Futurist performance, post-revolutionary mediatization of poetry, and poetry readings as social spaces. Her monograph *Revolutions in Verse* (2023, Northwestern UP) analyzes Russian modernism's mediating role in revolutionary contexts. Current British Academy/Leverhulme-funded research investigates poetry performance in avant-garde and late-Soviet underground cultures. Palmer's teaching spans undergraduate and MA levels, with supervision of final-year dissertations and practical translation students. Professional activities include organizing academic panels on media theory and literary form, and membership in ASEEES and AATSEEL. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, covering topics from Blok's prosody to postcolonial approaches to world literature.

• 20th-21st Century Russian Poetry
• Russian Formalism
• Comparative Modernisms
• +5 more

Dr. Angelos Theocharis is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Newcastle University's School of Arts and Cultures. His research focuses on cultural anthropology, particularly the intersection of climate crisis, Indigenous heritage, and participatory media. He leads the project 'Indigenous Visualities of Climate Crisis,' documenting environmental impacts on Indigenous communities in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh through collaborative filmmaking. His work emphasizes equitable collaborations and community-driven narratives. Dr. Theocharis holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh (2021) and previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University. His research spans diverse communities, including Russophone migrants, refugees, and delta residents. He co-organizes the 'Indigenous Heritage and Climate Activism' seminar series, fostering global dialogues on environmental justice and community art. His publications include Diaspora Reads: Community, Identity, and Russian Literaturocentrism (2025) and the co-edited volume River Delta Futures: Endangered Communities in Audiovisual Media (2025). He contributes to teaching courses such as 'Heritage Lives: Media Messages and Form' and 'Creative Methods in Social Sciences.' Supported by the Leverhulme Trust, Dr. Theocharis collaborates with the Centre for World Environmental History (Sussex) and convenes Newcastle's Anthropocenes Research Group. His future plans include expanding his film collection to 48 works across five communities and continuing global seminar series on Indigenous climate activism.

• Cultural Anthropology
• Climate Change Studies
• Indigenous Studies
• +4 more