Katri Pynnöniemi, researcher at the Aleksanteri Institute and Finnish National Defense University, has been appointed Professor

Katri Pynnöniemi has been appointed Professor at the University of Helsinki (Aleksanteri Institute). She holds Mannerheim Chair of Russian Security Studies. The joint professorship between the University of Helsinki and the Finnish National Defense University was established in August 2017.

Pynnöniemi leads the Mannerheim professorship working group at the University of Helsinki that brings together promising young researchers whose research topics explore Russia’s strategic thought and its implications for the European security. She is also member of the Russian military and security research group at the Finnish National Defense University, responsible for teaching and supervision of research on Russian strategy. She is active member of academic community, frequent speaker at academic and other events in Finland and abroad, and provides commentary on Russian strategy in the media.

Russia’s war against Ukraine and subsequent increase in tensions in Europe underlines the need to explore under what conditions and in what ways Russia uses military force and other instruments of power to promote its strategic interests in Europe and beyond. The research conducted or supervised by Professor Pynnöniemi focuses, although is not limited to, the following major themes: political and normative assumptions of Russia's security policy; the justification of war in Russian political and military thinking; theoretical and normative assumptions about threats to Russian national security and their change since the early 2000’s to the present day.

Professor Pynnöniemi has published widely on the system change in Russia and on Russian foreign and security policy. Her current research deals with Russia’s strategic thinking, focusing in particular to narratives shaping public perception on Russia’s war against Ukraine, Russian military thought and analysis of military threats.