Matteo Benussi

Matteo Benussi is a Research Fellow currently affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, where he investigates religion, politics, and ethics in post-socialist Eurasia. Previously, he was a PhD student at the University of Cambridge's Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU), completing his dissertation in 2018.

• PhD in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge (2018)

His research focuses on Islamic piety movements and the political economy of virtue in Tatarstan (Russia), with ongoing work on Muslim geographies, temporalities, and subjectivities in Inner Russia's borderlands. He also explores memory and ritual practices in post-Chernobyl Ukraine.

Scientific Awards

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship

Benussi is hosted jointly by the University of California, Berkeley and Ca' Foscari University of Venice under his fellowship, building on his doctoral work on Islamic communities in post-Soviet settings. His current projects emphasize cross-border dynamics and post-disaster societal transformations.