Stefan B. Kirmse

Dr. Stefan B. Kirmse is a Senior Research Fellow and research coordinator at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin, leading the ERC Consolidator Grant project "In Pursuit of Legality and Justice: Minority Struggles in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union" (2023–2028). His career spans institutions like Hokkaido University, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the Forum Transregionale Studien Berlin.

Education:

• Habilitation in Modern History (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2017–2018)
• PhD in Development Studies (SOAS, University of London, 2003–2009)
• M.Phil. in Russian and East European Studies (St. Antony’s College, Oxford, 2001–2003)
• B.A. in European Studies (Trinity College, University of Dublin, 1997–2001)

Research Interests focus on legal history in imperial and post-imperial contexts, particularly minority struggles for justice in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. His projects examine blood libel trials, bride kidnapping practices, and legal pluralism in Central Asia and the Caucasus. He analyzes how legal systems interacted with cultural diversity and colonial governance.

Scientific Awards:

• 3-year Research Student Fellowship (SOAS, 2003)
• Julian Kamensky Prize for Spoken Russian (Trinity College Dublin, 2001)
• 5-year Non-Foundation Scholarship (Trinity College Dublin, 1999)

Advising: Supervises PhD candidates on topics like Azerbaijani women’s secular identity, Soviet resettlement policies in the Caucasus, and political activism in Cold War Afghanistan. He also mentors students on globalization in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.