2025 Yale European and Eurasian Studies Graduate Student Conference
CommitteeChair:VitaRaskeviciute,YaleUniversity
TanyaKotelnykova,YaleUniversity
JacobLink,YaleUniversity
DashaMaliauskaya,YaleUniversity
OliverWolyniec,YaleUniversity
LolaShehu,YaleUniversity
LydiaSmith,YaleUniversity
ChristinaOh,YaleUniversity
MikeYork,YaleUniversity
ChristinaAndriotis,YaleUniversity
StaffandStudentsupportoftheESC
The planning committee is formed from students of the Yale European and Russian Studies MA Program, and the staff of the European Studies Council of the Yale MacMillan Center
DAVID SIMON
David J Simon is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education as well as a Senior Lecturer in Global Affairs He also serves as the Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University. David’s research focuses on mass atrocity prevention and post-atrocity recovery, with a particular focus on cases of mass atrocity in Africa, including those in Rwanda and Cote d’Ivoire He is co-editor of Mass Violence and Memory in the Digital Age: Memorialization Unmoored (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2020, with Eve M Zucker), and co-editor of the Handbook of Genocide Studies (Edward Elgar, forthcoming, with Leora Kahn) He helped launch the Mass Atrocities in the Digital Era initiative within the Genocide Studies Program (with Nathaniel Raymond). The initiative which recognizes that digital technology has brought about sea changes in all aspects of mass atrocity from the commission of it to the efforts to prevent it to the prospects of holding perpetrators responsible and seeks to bring experts from the fields of genocide studies, international criminal law, and internet data governance in conversation with one another to devise appropriate responses.
ROMAN OSHAROV
Roman Osharov is a DPhil Candidate at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of History, where his dissertation examines the Russian Empire's production of knowledge about Central Asia in the nineteenth century, its uses and limits. He began studying the history of the Russian Empire and Central Asia in 2019, building on some of his earlier work done while studying at King’s College London Research for his DPhil has taken him to archives and libraries across Eurasia, including Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, as well as to holdings in the United States and the United Kingdom. During his DPhil Roman has taught on the history of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union course at the Faculty of History and New College, Oxford, and held a teaching fellowship at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
Vita Raskeviciute is currently pursuing an MA in European and Russian Studies at Yale University Born and raised in Lithuania, her interests converge at the crossroads of democratization and the formation of national identity within the post-Soviet landscape Vita obtained her B A in International Relations and Russian and East European Studies from the University of Pennsylvania
Sergei Antonov specializes in modern Russia after 1800, with particular interest in politics, culture, and society in the late imperial and early Soviet period (ca 1850-1927) His research focuses on the history of Russian law, conceived broadly to include not just legislation and legal doctrines, but ways in which legal norms and institutions impacted the daily practices of ordinary persons, rich and poor, men and women, and served to define and protect private interests, resolve (or perpetuate) interpersonal conflicts, as well as to assert (or challenge) social power and authority
Diana Avdeeva is a graduate student in Slavic Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Originally from Moscow, Russia, her research focuses on Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, with an emphasis on nationalism and national identity as reflected in artistic production in Russia under Putin Diana's work particularly examines the Russian opposition, the antiwar movement, and the experiences of Russia’s Indigenous peoples She also explores creative expression in Ukraine and Belarus as a form of opposition to Russia's influence Beyond academia, Diana is a committed antiwar and decolonization activist, working with several major organizations, including those designated as terrorist and extremist by the Russian government "DecolonizingRussianIdentity:ExaminingtheRoleofNon-RussianEthnicGroupsinPutin’sRussia" Thispaperexplorestheroleofnon-RussianethnicgroupsinshapingRussianidentityunderPutin’sregime,challengingthe dominantnarrativesthatcenterethnicRussianswhilemarginalizingindigenousandminoritypopulationsTheKremlin’snationbuildingprojectpromotesahomogenizedRussianidentity,oftenerasingthecultural,linguistic,andhistoricalcontributionsof non-RussianpeoplesAtthesametime,thestateexploitsethnicminoritiesforpoliticalandmilitarypurposes,disproportionately recruitingthemintothearmedforcesandusingtheirregionsforeconomicextractionThispaperreassessesthesedynamics throughthelensofdecolonialtheory,focusingonthewaysindigenouspeoplesofRussiahaveresistedPutin’sregimeandthe full-scaleinvasionofUkrainein2022Throughactivism,anti-warmovements,culturalrevival,andtransnationalsolidarity, variousindigenouscommunitiesinRussiachallengestate-imposednarrativesandreclaimtheiragencyByincorporatingthese perspectives,thisresearchhighlightsactsofdefianceagainstRussianimperialismandpresentsalternativevisionsofRussian identitybeyondthestate’scontrol.Understandingtheseformsofresistanceiscrucialfordeconstructingimperialnarrativesand fosteringamoreinclusiveanddecolonizeddiscourseonRussia’sfuture.
KRISTOFERS KRUMINS
Kristofers Krumins, originally from Riga, completed his undergraduate degree in politics and government at Sciences Po, while also spending his last year on exchange at Columbia University Some of his academic interests include politics of emotion, identity, and disinformation, especially focusing on events in the Baltics and Ukraine Despite his studies in the US, Kristofers remains tightly connected with Latvia and has pursued many opportunities there, including interning at the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and serving as the UN Youth Delegate of Latvia in 2024
gg g y g g g y monthsof2022(Gerardetal,2024)Withtheonsetofpotentialpeacenegotiationsandastoptothehostilities,thisstudylooks atthemoodamongthetenmostreadRussianTelegramwarbloggingchannelsandassessesthetrendsintheblogospherein late2024andatthebeginningof2025Theresearchpaperanalyzesanoriginaldatasampleanddevelopsacodebooktofilter outspecificemotionalresponsestotheongoingtacticalsituationonthefrontaswellaseventsaffectingthediplomaticrelations betweenRussiaanditsperceivedadversaries.Importantly,thepaperaddressesagapinmeasuringthepublicsentimentin RussiatowardsitswarinUkrainebyassessingthepopularityandpublicreactionstothevariouspostssharedbyRussia’swar bloggers.
ADRIANE LONGHURST
Adriane is an MA candidate at Georgetown University with CERES After studying both Environmental Biology and Russian in her undergraduate degree, her research concerns the present-day repercussions of the Soviet legacy on science and the region's current environmental, ecological, and bioethical issues, as informed by history, politics, culture and war across Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia "Russia'sAffinityforImmortality"
PANEL IV: SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS SALOME MAMULADZE
Salome Mamuladze is a master's student in Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she also serves as a Graduate Fellow at CERES Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia, she earned a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Qatar, majoring in Culture and Politics with a minor in Government. Salome's undergraduate honors thesis explored modern Georgian nationalism and protest culture Her current research interests focus on security dynamics and nationalism in the South Caucasus and the broader Black Sea region
Lydia Smith (she/her) is a current Masters Student in the European and Russian studies program Her academic interests include the use of AI in combating disinformation, internal displacement in post-conflict zones, the South Caucasus, and the Balkans Her thesis research is on modern policies of internal displacement in Georgia and Armenia Prior to arriving at Yale, Lydia taught English at high schools in Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria and Joinville, France as part of the Fulbright and TAPIF programs. She is originally from Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Foreign Affairs and minors in French and Russian literature Her undergraduate thesis research was on the efficacy and impact of COVID-19 border closures
JULIE A. GEORGE
Professor George specializes in comparative politics, focusing on ethnic politics, democratization, and state building Her current research focuses on how states undergoing significant transformation and reform address ethnic minorities. Professor George has conducted research in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the Russian Federation and in Georgia, where she was funded by the Fulbright Association Professor George is the author of The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), as well as articles in Europe-Asia Studies, Post-Soviet Affairs, European Security, and Central Asian Survey She has written chapters for inclusion in The Politics of Transition in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Enduring Legacies and Emerging Challenges (Routledge, 2009) and Conflict in the Caucasus: Implications for International Legal Order (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2010).
PANEL VII: EUROPE'S ECONOMIC POLICY, TRADE, AND COMPETITIVENESS IN A CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE
CARLO GIANNONE
Carlo Giannone is a Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, sponsored by BCG, Fulbright and Zegna scholarships. He works as Teaching Assistant for Economics Professor Robert Lawrence, former Economic Advisor of President Clinton, and as a Research Assistant for Professor Eric Rosenbach, former Chief of Staff of US Pentagon He is also part of the organizing team of the 2024 EU Conference, one of the most important events on Europe in the US Prior to HKS, he worked as a policy consultant at BCG in Middle East focusing on geopolitics, foreign direct investments, industrial and foreign policy as well as at FleishmanHillard in Brussels focusing on public affairs He holds a bachelor’s in economics from Bocconi University and a master’s degree in international management from the London School of Economics and Bocconi University where he also serves as an elected member of the Board of Bocconi Alumni. Carlo also currently contributes to several Italian newspapers, hosts a top-100 Italian podcast on geopolitics and economics - "Finanza, Pizza e Mandolino", and is a selected ISPI, OECD and Bocconi University Future Leader "EUTradePolicyintheEraofProtectionism:De-riskingfromUS"
Justine Haekens is currently pursuing her LL M degree at Harvard Law School while simultaneously working on her PhD at the KU Leuven Her dissertation focuses on the concept of market power in EU competition law, on which she has published in Belgian and European academic journals Justine is involved in the Harvard European Law Association and the Belgian Student Society at Harvard, as well as in the Case4EU Project She holds a masters degree from the KU Leuven and has studied at the University of Edinburgh as part of her degree
holds an M A in Human Rights from Columbia University and a B A in Law from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Tanya's journey began when she was displaced from her home in Eastern Ukraine in 2014 due to the Donbas occupation. In 2022, she was in Kyiv during the city's encirclement by Russian forces and witnessed the full-scale invasion of Ukraine Tanya is the founder of Brave Generation, a non-profit organization based in NYC, dedicated to uniting and empowering young Ukrainians for post-war reconstruction Additionally, Tanya serves as a project coordinator at the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, where her role involves enhancing democracy promotion workshops, and the Nemtsov forum as well as overseeing the management of the scholarships related to Ukrainian students Also, Tanya manages the “Ideas for Russia” project, exploring Russia in the era of non-transparency and isolation
David R Cameron is a Professor of Political Science at Yale and the Director of the Yale Program in European Union Studies He received his B A from Williams College, an M B A from Dartmouth, an M Sc from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and his Ph.D. from The University of Michigan. He teaches courses on European politics and the European Union
He has written about the impact of trade openness on government and, with respect to the EU, the operation of the European Monetary System, the negotiation of the Treaty on European Union, Economic and Monetary Union, the eurozone crisis, the creation of democratic polities and market-oriented economies in central and eastern Europe, the crisis in Ukraine and, most recently, Brexit
