Programme

Please note that there may be changes to the programme.

All programme times are Helsinki local time (UTC +03:00 EEST).
Conference Guidelines and Information

Conference guidelines and information for presenters can be found below

Wednesday 23 October 2024

9:00 -10:00 | Lobby Main Building (Fabianinkatu 33)

We ask all participants to register upon arrival at the information desk. You will receive a lanyard with your name tag.

Registration/information desk will be in the lobby of the University of Helsinki main building prior to the opening ceremony. Following the opening ceremony the registration/information desk will be located in the lobby of the Metsätalo building for the remainder of the conference.

Address Main Building: Fabianinkatu 33

Address Metsätalo building: Unioninkatu 40 / Fabianinkatu 39

Registration / information desk will be open

  • from 9:00 until 17:45 on Wednesday 
  • from 9:30 until 17:30 on Thursday
  • from 9:30 until 16:00 on Friday

 9:00-9:45 | Slavonic Library Tour (Optional)

Join us for an exclusive guided tour of the Slavonic Library at the National Library of Finland. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the extensive collections, which include rare manuscripts, historical documents, and a vast array of Slavic and Eastern European literature. The library staff will offer insights into the library's history, its role in supporting academic research, and the unique resources available for scholars studying Slavic languages, cultures, and histories.

Information regarding signing up for the tour will be sent via email. 

 

Gazeta Sasha

The Aleksanteri Institute's student organization, Sasha, will be selling print editions of the latest edition of their magazine Gazeta under the theme of Resistance at the information desk. 

Has Poland truly set itself back on the path towards functioning liberal democracy? Why is Belarusian considered an endangered language despite having 3.6 million speakers? What do Georgia's youth activists have to say about the passage of the foreign agent law in Georgia? These stories and more in Gazeta Sasha Issue 3: Resistance.

Card and cash payments will be accepted.

10:00 - 11:00 | Main Building Hall F4050 (Fabianinkatu 33)

Join us in Hall F4050 for the official opening of the 2024 Aleksanteri Conference. The opening ceremony will be recorded and livestreamed.

We are excited to announce that the keynote address, titled "Fighting Back: The Erosion of Human Rights and the Rule of Law," will be delivered by Frank Johansson, Executive Director of Amnesty International Finland. Markku Kangaspuro, Director of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki, will chair the session.

As part of the ceremony, we are thrilled to welcome singer PALÚ, who will perform three songs in Russian, Latvian, and English. PALÚ has previously been featured on The Voice of Latvia and X Factor Latvia.

11:00 - 12:00 | Main Building Hall F4050 (Fabianinkatu 33)

Jennifer Gandhi | Democratic Backsliding and Authoritarian Politics from a Comparative Perspective

Professor of Political Science

Yale University

12:00 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

There are several dining options near the venue. Within the Metsätalo building there is a University Cafe (UniCafe) serving lunch. A short 5 minute walk away there is the Kluuvi mall which also has several restaurants. 2 minutes away from Metsätalo there is also the Fennia Block which has several restaurants. 

 

12:30 - 13:30 | Walking Tour (Optional)

Are you interested in learning more about the historical and intellectual development of Helsinki? Join us for a guided walking tour that explores the city's academic and cultural landmarks. This tour will highlight key sites tied to Helsinki's role in shaping Finnish intellectual life, its architectural evolution, and the broader socio-political changes that have influenced the region. 

 

A sign up link will be provided via email

13:30 - 15:00 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39) 

Roundtable 1A-1: Russian Civil Society In-Exile: Best Practices and Challenges

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Mariia Petukhova (WOT Foundation, Poland)

Riku Savonen (Suomi-Venäjä-seura ry/Finland-Russia Society, Finland)

Nikita Makarov (Initiative for Resistance and Dialogues, Finland)

Ksenia Torström (Deputies of Peaceful Russia, Finland)

Natalia Zviagina (Civil Society Forum, Germany)

 

Panel 1A-2: Dynamics of Authoritarianism and Governance: Political Transformations in Comparative Perspective

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Yuliya Bidenko (V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine)

Vladimir Gel’man (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland) 

Reassessing Russian Politics in the 1990s: Political and Institutional Foundations of Authoritarian Regime Building under the Guise of Democratization

Robert Gabriel Ticalau (Romanian Centre for Russian Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania)

Back to Soviet Totalitarianism? The Evolution of the Belarusian Regime after the 2024 Parliamentary Elections

Sarah Sokhey (University of Colorado Boulder, USA) & Paula Ganga (Duke Kunshan University, China)

Political Competition & Governance in Ukraine: Evidence from Original Survey Data on Public Goods Provision

 

Panel 1A-3: Transnational Networks of Protest: Civil Society and Diasporic Resistance to War and Authoritarianism

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Maili Vilson (University of Tartu, Estonia)

Eleanor Bindman (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

Belarusian civil society in exile in the context of the war in Ukraine

Giorgia Cacciotti (European University Institute/Università di Bologna, Italy)

Russian activists beyond borders - a new transnational network

Oula Kadhum (SOAS, University of London, UK)

Migration as Protest: Diasporic Resistance to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine

 

Panel 1A-4: Identity Formation and Language Practices in the Migration Experience

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Eemil Mitikka (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olga Khabibulina (Institute of Slavic Studies Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland)

To speak or not to speak. Georgian migrants in Poland building and articulating their language practices

Emil Chról (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Crisis of identity or renaissance of identity: investigating identity challenges among Ukrainians, using the example of Ukrainian war migrants in Poland after 2022

Sergei Tikhonov & Elizaveta Vlasova (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Research on Dual Media Consumption and Value Sets of Russian-speaking Residents in Europe

 

Panel 1A-5: Transbordering Vulnerabilities: Adaptation of Displaced People from Ukraine to the New Environment in Finland

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Elena Nikiforova (Aleksanteri Insitute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

National bodies at national borders: transformation of border/body regimes in the conditions of war

Discussant: Laura Kemppainen (Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Insitute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Legal consciousness and travel of knowledge: Finnish welfare in narratives of Ukrainian forced migrants, healthcare brokers and care workers

Elena Bogdanova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Affected subjectivity and materiality: adaptation of displaced people with chronic illnesses to the new environment

Luca De Magistris (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

The Creation of Deaf Spaces: Place-Making Practices in the Wake of  Displacement from Ukraine

 

Panel 1A-6: Resisting Moscow’s Norms of the Russian Language: Evolving Pluricentric Varieties

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Ekaterina Protassova (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Kapitolina Fedorova & Natalia Tšuikina (Tallinn University, Estonia)

Language ideology and debates around linguistic norms: the case of Estonian Russian

Mihail Kopotev (University of Helsinki, Finland)

The Literary Language (литературный язык): toward the history of the concept

Alexander Piperski (Stockholm University, Sweden)

Whose time is it now? The delicate issue of time zones for Russian-speaking online meetings

 

Panel 1A-7: Environmental Movements and Extractivist Power: Analyzing Resistance from Lithuania to East Russia

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Anna Sokolova (University of Ostrava, Czechia)

Iuliia Gataulina (Tampere University, Finland)

Tracing hydro-ontologies across colonial-extractivist assemblages of the Aral Sea (and beyond)

Nicola Belli (University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy)

Lithuania 1988: The Žemyna environmental club

Istvan Santha (Hun-Ren Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungary)

Attempts for Resistance of Indigenous Mining Company in East Russia (2004-2013)

 

Panel 1A-8: The Fight Against Forgetting – Historians and Archivists Against Authoritarianism

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair: Jesse Hirvelä (The National Archives of Finland/University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Laakkonen (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)

The Finnish War Deposit Archive – Robbery or Rescue? The Journey of Archival Materials from the Occupied Soviet Karelia to Finland during the WWII

Lauri Partanen (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)

Cooperation between Finnish and Soviet Archival Institutions during the Cold War: Resisting Authoritarianism or Supporting the Status Quo?

Justyna Avci (The KARTA Center, Poland)

The KARTA Center. The Memory Strategies: The Importance of Individual Memories Being Rescued in Face of Totalitarian Regime and the Practices of Popularizing Them in the Presence

Maryna Paliienko (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine)

The Role of Archives in Preserving National History and Identity during Russia’s War against Ukraine

 

Panel 1A-9: Religious Persecution in/by Russia

Room: Hall 24  (5th floor)

Chair: Igor Mikeshin (University of Helsinki, Finland)

"Jehovah's Witnesses as a litmus test of democracy": Jehovah's Witnesses and Russian religious policy

Discussant: Katharina Kunter (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elina Kahla (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Legacy of Bloodlands (Pogroms, Holocaust) — A Long Path Towards Reconciliation?

Maija Penttilä (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Persecutions and survival strategies among Evangelical minority churches in Russia

 

Poster Session 1A-10: Thesis poster presentation presented by MAREEES

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Sari Autio-Sarasmo (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

A poster session showcasing thesis projects by second-year students in the University of Helsinki's International Master’s Program in Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies.

Anastasiia Bardyzh

Analyzing Library Borrowing Trends in Response to Societal Dynamics ​based on an analysis of the Russian-language collection​ of libraries in the capital region

Lila Bednarska

Elbasy: The Nazarbayev Billions

Giulia Bongioni

Exploiting Sports in State Propaganda - Irina Viner and Rhythmic Gymnastics

Tabea Böing 

The Kremlin within - On the role of German politicians in the spread of Russian propagandistic narratives

Johan Franzén

Calibrated for NATO: Changes in Polish Strategic Culture

Natalia Kaiialainen

Understanding of Patriotism by Russian Emigrants after February 2022

Jenni Kirkinen

Understanding Russian Sovereignty and Ontological (In)security

Karri Kuokkanen 

Belarusian Foreign Policy After 2020: Changes and continuity in Belarusian strategic (sub)culture(s) in the time of crisis

Daniel List 

Economic Change Turbulence at the OAO Svetogorsk Paper Mill

Giulia Panfilo

A Feminist Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan after 2020

Janine Pokki 

Victim of NATO?: Strategic narratives about Finland’s NATO accession in Russian state-owned media

Oliver Reschreiter

Green Autocracies: Leveraging Renewable Energy for Political Legitimacy in Kazakhstan

Sierra Salazar

An Alternative to Barricades: Women's Strategies to Resisting Repression in 1960s Soviet Ukraine 

Iuliia Smirnova

State Propaganda and the Construction of Patriotic-Based Civic Identity: The Case of Russian History Textbooks

Tatu Vehmas

Russia 2030 Scenarios

 

15:00 - 15:30 | 3rd Floor, Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Please join us for some coffee, tea, and light snacks 

15:30 -16:30 | Hall 1 Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

Diana T. Kudaibergen | States, Regimes, and Vlast': How Citizens Make Sense of Everyday Authoritarianism?

Lecturer in Central Asian Politics and Society | Assistant Professor in Political Sociology

University College London | University of Cambridge

16:45 - 18:15 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39) 

Roundtable 1B-1: Civil Society in Autocratic Russia

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Jouko Nikula (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elena Bogdanova (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Marina Khmelnitskaya (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Jussi Lassila (Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland)

Ann-Mari Sätre (Uppsala University, Sweden)

Leo Granberg (University of Helsinki, Finland)

 

Panel 1B-2: Civilizationism and Political Strategies in Stalin-era Scholarship

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair/Discussant: Anatoly Pinsky (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Vesa Oittinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Revolutionary Democrats - a Stalinist Construction only?

Liisa Bourgeot (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Asmus' "Logic" (1947): a turning-point in Soviet philosophy?

Elina Viljanen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

"Loss of melody" - Soviet musicological contribution to Voprosy filosofii (1948)

Karoliina Pulkkinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Bonifatii Kedrov's methodological essays on Marxist histories of chemistry, science, and technology

 

Panel 1B-3: Resisting Russian Narratives of Siberia: Indigenous Environmental Activism

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair/Discussant: Mika Perkiömäki (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Sanna Turoma (University of Tampere, Finland)

Colonial hierarchies of Soviet space in Nikolai N. Mikhailov's popular geographies

Eeva Kuikka (Tampere University, Finland)

Environmental awareness as part of decolonial resistance in the Russian context

Daria Kuznetsova (Tampere University, Finland)

Guardians of the Taiga: Shamanic traditions, environmental injustice, and Indigenous resistance in Southern Siberia

 

Panel 1B-4: Gender and Power in Eurasia and India

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Yuliya Brin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Vita Zeyliger (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

Authoritarianism in Eurasia: Russian-led Regional Organizations, State of Values, and Gender Patterns

Caroline Hill (Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden)

Framing of Abortion and Church-State Relations in Russian Orthodox Online Portals

Artur Lipiński (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)

From weapons of the weak to social activism? The case of LGBTQ community and women in populist-governed Poland.

 

Panel 1B-5: Professionals at Times of Civic Rupture, War and Political Migration

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair/Discussant: Julia Lerner (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel/The Center for Research on Eastern European, Balkan and Median Cultures and Societies, Lettres Sorbonne-Université, CNRS, France)

Olga Dovbysh & Elena Rodina (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Creative strategies of resilience of Russian exiled journalism

Olga Orlova (T-Invariant, Israel)

Academic Notes from Underground: How Russian scientists are experiencing the war

Svetlana Chachashvili-Bolotin (Ruppin Academic Center, Israel) & Anna Temkina (Ruppin Academic Center/Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

Doctors' Migration from Russia due to the invasion to Ukraine: Transnational and Local Re-professionalization in Israel

Tanya Voinova (The Institute for Immigration and Social Integration, Ruppin Academic Center/Bar-Ilan University, Israel) & Svetlana Chachashvili-Bolotin (Ruppin Academic Center, Israel)

“From one war to another”: Ukraine-born immigrant-interpreters in Israel

 

Panel 1B-6: Russia’s Energy and Climate Policies Under Western Sanctions

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Marianna Poberezhskaya (Nottingham Trent University, UK)

Discussant: Ellie Martus (Griffith University, Australia)

Tatiana Lanshina (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Improving Western energy sanctions

Anna Korppoo (Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway) & Georgy Safanov (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Scenarios for Russian coal sector under Western sanctions

Oleg Pluzhnikov (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Russia under western sanctions in UN climate negotiations and global climate politics

 

Panel 1B-7: The Multilayered Resistance on Stalinism

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Dmitri Frolov (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Discussant: Una Bergmane (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Struggle for autonomy in the Autonomous Republic of Karelia in the 1920s and the 30s

Ira Jänis-Isokangas (National Archives, Finland)

Kotkin’s Magnetic Mountain Revisited: Finnish Workers in the Ural Region in the 1930s

Jesse Hirvelä (National Archives, Finland)

Ingrian Intelligentsia from the Perspective of Finnish Communists in Leningrad 1923–1938

 

Panel 1B-8: Economic and Political Resilience in Authoritarian Regimes Amidst War and Sanctions

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Vladimir Gel'man (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ingerid Maria Opdahl (Institute for Defence Studies/ Norwegian Defence University College, Norway) 

Business elites, patriotic unity and authoritarian resilience in Russia under Putin

Michael Rochlitz (University of Oxford, UK)

The Economic Consequences of Brain Drain: How the Exodus of IT Specialists Affects Russia's Economic Competitiveness

Kacper Wańczyk (Kozminski University/Warsaw University, Poland)

Robustness of authoritarian economies - a case of Belarus

 

Panel 1B-9: Gender, Utopias, and Intellectual Exchange in 20th-Century Europe

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Brendan Humphreys (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Sofia Malysheva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Gender, Collectivity and Emotions in Soviet Women’s Responses to Natalya Baranskaya’s Novella “A Week Like Any Other”

Milena Methodieva (University of Toronto, Canada) 

Between Liberalism and Solidarism: Finland as Utopia in the Balkans and Turkey (1920s-1930s)

Mikhail Trunin (Tallinn University, Estonia)

Semiotic Dialogues Across the Iron Curtain: The Intellectual Exchanges of Juri Lotman and Maria Renata Mayenowa

 

Panel 1B-10: Resistance and Mobilization: Russian Propaganda in Media and Education

Room: Hall 24 (5th floor)

Chair: Maili Vilson (University of Tartu, Estonia)

Csilla Horváth (University of Helsinki, Finland/University of Tromsø, Norway)

Dove or flower? The Ob-Ugric internet users’ strategies to express resistance towards propaganda on social media platforms

Alla Roylance (New York University, USA)

Russian book publishing industry as a tool of propaganda machinery

Helge Blakkisrud (University of Oslo, Norway), Kristian Lundby & Natalia Moen-Larsen (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway)

“Conversations about Important Things”: Mobilizing the Education System in Times of War

 

Panel 1B-11: Approaching Russian Authoritarianism: Subaltern Empire and Its Knowledges

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair/Discussant: Kaarina Aitamurto (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Maria Vyatchina (University of Tartu, Estonia)

Silenced Inequalities: State-Run Expert Knowledge Production in Contemporary Russia

Anonymous Researcher

Coloniality of Knowledge and Representation of Indigenous Peoples by Russian Independent Media

Kristina Kovalskaya (Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laicités, France)

Expertise of Religion in a "Subaltern Empire": Who is Subaltern and Who is Imperial?

Dmitry Dubrovskiy (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Experts as defenders of the Russian nationalism: court cases on the closure of ethnonational organizations in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan

 

18:30 - 19:30 |Unicafe Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

Join us for an evening of refreshments and socialising as we look back on the conclusion of the first day of the conference. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, share insights from the day's sessions, and foster new collaborations.

Thursday 24 October 2024

10:00 - 11:30 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Roundtable 2A-1: Liminality as Theory, Practice, and Standpoint

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Elena Bogdanova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elena Nikiforova (Aleksanteri Institute, Helsinki University, Finland)

Susan Simolin (Åland Island Peace Institute)

Julia Lerner (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel & The Center for Research on Eastern European, Balkan and Median Cultures and Societies (Eur’ORBEM), Lettres Sorbonne-Université, CNRS, France)

 

Panel 2A-2: The Decembrist Uprising: Russia’s First Liberal Revolt Against Autocracy

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair/Discussant: Patrick O’ Meara (Durham University, UK)

Ludmilla Trigos (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Resistance to Authoritarianism among the Decembrists’ Wives

Susanna Rabow-Edling (Uppsala University, Sweden)

Liberalism and Republicanism in Decembrist Political Thought

Yurii Latysh (State University of Londrina, Brazil)

Decembrists in Ukraine's politics of memory

Stanislav Tarasov (Participating in Individual Capacity)

‘Rebellious Passions’: The Role of Enthusiasm in the Decembrist Movements

 

Panel 2A-3: Activism, Nationalism, and Political Change in the Balkans

Room: Hall 26 (5th floor)

Chair: Brendan Humphreys (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Veljko Vujacic (Oberlin College, USA)

Nationalist Mobilization as a Response to Political Decay: From Milošević to Putin

Haris Dajč (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

Contemporary Historical Revisionism in Serbia: new myths of friends and foes

 

Panel 2A-4: Ethnicity Under Empire: Marginalization and Cultural Survival from Crimea to Central Europe

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Una Bergmane (Aleksanteri Conference, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Kozlova (Carleton University, Canada)

From korenizatsiya to Russification: The case study of ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union

Lev Pavlenko (University of Toronto, Canada)

Prisoners in Their Homeland: Systemic Mistreatment of Crimean Tatars and Russian Imperialism

Delia Popescu (Le Moyne College, USA)

Uncivic values: an archival lens on the continuity of Romani exclusion

 

Panel 2A-5: Environmental Movements and State Responses in Russia and Kazakhstan

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Alexandra Barmina (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Dynamics of environmental justice movement in Russia: how more-than-humans shape contentious action’

Mariel Kieval (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Voices from Kokzhide: Media Discourse and Environmental Activism in Kazakhstan

Nadir Kinossian (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany)

Developmental state, spatial planning, and mass protests

 

Panel 2A-6: Navigating Power and Energy: Authoritarian Adaptation and Elite Dynamics in Kyrgyzstan

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Eugenia Pesci (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Sarah Dorr (University of Connecticut, USA)

The limits and potential of authoritarian adaptiveness in volatile political orders: Elite learning in Kyrgyzstan

Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany)

Japarov and Tashiev in Tandem: the Pursuit of Money and Power

Mieszko Kaznowski (Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland)

Relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan in the energy domain of Kyrgyzstan

 

Panel 2A-7: Transnational Dynamics in Eastern Europe: Immigration, Identity and Diaspora

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair/Discussant: Rustamjon Urinboyev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland & Lund University, Sweden)

Dzeneta Karabegovich (University of Salzburg, Austria)

Navigating Transnational Activism and Repression: The Complex Dynamics of Diaspora Influence

Caress Schenk (Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan)

Uncertainty in Theory and Lived Experience

Sherzod Eraliev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland/Lund University, Sweden)

Post-Soviet Immigration and Changing Migration Policies in Finland

Joni Virkkunen (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)

Negotiating Identities, Symbolisms, and Securities in Estonia: Russian Speakers and the State during Russia’s War in Ukraine

 

 

Panel 2A-8: Political and Societal Violence in post-Soviet Russia

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Geir Flikke (University of Oslo, Norway)

Tor Bukkvoll (Norwegian Defence Research establishment (FFI), Norway)

Violent Governance in Russia – Post-Soviet Normative Changes in the Kremlin’s Domestic Exercise of Violence

Johannes Due Enstad (Institute of Social Research, Norway) & Marianna Muravyeva (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Understanding violent masculinities in post-Soviet Russia

Yuliya Brin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

How Does War Change the State of Domestic Violence against Women in Russia?

 

Panel 2A-9 "Winking at normal people": Strategies of Survival and Rearrangement of Actions and Networks of Activists in Russia After 2022

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Ekaterina Kalinina (Södertörn University / Stockholm University, Sweden)

Publicity vs Security: Challenges and solutions of urban and eco-activists in Russia after 2022

Discussant: Anna Zhelnina (Utrecht University, Netherlands)

Oleg Pachenkov (Humbolt University of Berlin, Germany) & Liliia Voronkova (CISR Berlin, Germany)

Urban and environment activism after the full scale invasion: Strategies of coping

Valeria Rumiantseva (CISR Berlin / Technical University of Berlin, Germany)

(Un)Sustainable greening policies: Resistance and cooperation strategies of environmental urban movements in Russia after 2022

 

Panel 2A-10: Reconstruction and Justice in Wartime Ukraine

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Katri Pynnöniemi (University of Helsinki/National Defense University, Finland)

Yuliya Bidenko (Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine)

The Role of the Civil Society in the Ukrainian Reconstruction: viewpoints and modes of participation from the East and South of Ukraine

Ielizaveta Rekhtman (University of Glasgow, UK)

Is ‘never again’ possible? Justice claims among Ukrainians at the time of war

Natalia Khmelevska (Leonid Yuzkov Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law)

The impact of war on juvenile justice in Ukraine 

 

Roundtable 2A-11: Teaching and Research in Russian Studies after 2022: Emergent Challenges and Adjustments

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Margarita Zavadskaya (Finnish Institute of International Affairs/Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Aleksei Gilev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ivan Fomin (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Dmitry Dubrovskiy (Charles University, Czech Republic)

 

11:30 - 12:00 | 3rd Floor, Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39) 

 

Please join us for some coffee, tea, and light snacks 

12:00 - 13:00 | Hall 1 Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

Gwendolyn Sasse | Questions about War and Democracy in Russia’s War against Ukraine

Director | Einstein Professor for the Comparative Study of Democracy and Authoritarianism

Centre for East European and International Studies | Humboldt-Universität Berlin

13:00 - 14:15 | Lunch Break

There are several dining options near the venue. Within the Metsätalo building there is a University Cafe (UniCafe) serving lunch. A short 5 minute walk away there is the Kluuvi mall which also has several restaurants. 2 minutes away from Metsätalo there is also the Fennia Block which has several restaurants. 

14:15 - 15:45 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39) 

Panel 2B-1: Histories and Legacies of Prisoners of War in Eurasia

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Judith Pallot (Alexanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Matthias Uhl (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Max Weber Foundation, Germany) & Daniel Bissmann (German War Graves Commission, Germany)

Soviet Prisoners of War: An International Documentation Project

Anna Mazanik (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Max Weber Foundation, Germany)

Encephalitis and Japanese Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union: How Historical Research Can Inform Biomedicine

Mate Rigo (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany)

'The Men Who Weren't There': East European Mercenaries in Vietnamese and Chinese Captivity During the Indochina War

Marcel Berni (Military Academy, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

Behind Enemy Lines: The Treatment of Communist Captives During the Vietnam War

 

Panel 2B-2: Eurasian Climate Politics in the Context of Authoritarianism

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair: Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Korppoo (The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway) & Oleg Pluzhnikov (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Climate Obstructionist Features in the Russian and Belarusian Polities

Marianna Poberezhskaya (Nottingham Trent University, UK), Ellie Martus (Griffith University, Australia), Marat Karatayev (University of Graz, Austria) & Elena Novikova (Participating in Individual Capacity)

National Oil Companies and Climate Discourses in Authoritarian States: a comparison of Russia and Kazakhstan

Oleg Pluzhnikov (Participating in Individual Capacity) & Arild Moe (Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway)

ESG in Russian export companies under Western sanctions: have low-carbon policies been abandoned as Asian markets gain importance?

Morenna Skalamera (Leiden University, Netherlands)

The Distributional Effects of the EU’s Climate Policy in Central Asia

 

Panel 2B-3: Political Conformism vs. Political Resistance: Evidence from the Opinion Polls in Russia

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Margarita Zavadskaya (Finnish Institute of International Affairs/Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Aleksei Gilev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Foundations of Political Conformity in Russia: Evidence from the Online Panel Survey

Marina Vyrskaia (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Taking Surveys as Political Participation in Russia: Evidence from Online and CATI Surveys

Vladimir Zvonovsky (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Respondent’s Cooperation in surveys during the military conflict

 

Panel 2B-4: War, Humor, and Nationalism: Cultural Expressions and Resistance in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair: Amelie Tolvin (University of Toronto, Canada)

Iryna Kovalchuk (University College Dublin, Ireland)

War Narratives: Thematic and Emotive Resistance in Essays on the Russo-Ukrainian War

Yahor Azarkevich (University of Warwick, UK)

Brave New Joke: Meta-Humour as a political action in Russia, Belarus, and the US

Aleksa Filipović (Institute of European Studies, Serbia)

"Patriotisation" of the Russian Mass Culture post-2022: How the War in Ukraine Impacts the Russian Cinema, Music and Societal Attitudes and Values

 

Panel 2B-5: Queer and Feminist Responses to Authoritarianism and War

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Marianna Muravyeva (University of Helsinki, Finland)

John Kaye (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

LGBT enemy images and geopolitical confrontation: Russia’s ‘sovereign morality’ and the war against Ukraine

Kirill Polkov (Södertörn University, Sweden)

Queering Images of Russia in Sweden 1991–2019: Theoretical frontiers and empirical realities in a case study of "Western" counter-hegemonic resistance

Karolina Nugumanova (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy)

Feminism in Action: Unveiling the Transformative Power of the Feminist Antiwar Resistance (FAR)

Natasha Bluth (University of California, USA)

Gendered Violence, Genderless Frames: Discourses of Domestic Violence in Russia and Ukraine, 2011–21

 

Panel 2B-6: The Role of NGOs in Drug Prevention, Drug Treatment and Drug Policy in Central Asia

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Jarkyn Shadymanova (American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan)

Guzalkhon Zakhidova (Bukhara State Medical Institute, Uzbekistan)
Civil society organizations and drug policy in Uzbekistan

Medet Qudabekov & Dalida Mukasheva (Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan) 
The role of civil society in the development of opioid substitution treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention in Kazakhstan

Sandugash Ismagulova (Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan)
Promoting professional social work in civil society organizations for providing social support to people with substance use disorders

Ulla Pape (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany)
Community organizations in the drug policy field in Central Asia

 

Panel 2B-7: Identity, Corruption, and the Politics of Public Trust

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Sherzod Eraliev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland/Lund University, Sweden) 

Anna Jordanova (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Who is to Blame, Who is to Act? Framing Anti-Corruption in Central Asian Regimes

Nonna Kushnirovich (Ruppin Academic Center, Israel)

The interplay between identity, immigration, and legitimation of tax evasion

 

Panel 2B-8: Nationhood, Conflict, and Reintegration: Addressing Political and Social Divides in Eurasia

Room: Hall 24 (5th floor)

Chair: Sirke Mäkinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ekaterina Mikhailova (Barents Institute, University of Tromso, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway)

(Br)otherhood of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with(out) Their Shared Borderland

Nadja Douglas (Centre for East European and International Studies, Germany)

Conflict Mediation and Trust-Building in the South Caucasus

Pleșca Laurențiu (Romanian Centre for Russian Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania)

How does Moldova intend to reintegrate the Transnistrian region?

 

15:45 - 16:15 | 3rd Floor, Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Please join us for some coffee, tea, and light snacks 

16:15 - 17:45 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Roundtable 2C-1: Academic Discourses, Everyday Life Under Authoritarianism and Research Challenges in Central Asia

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Asel Doolotkeldieva (George Washington University, USA)

Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany)

Anna Jordanova (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Diana T. Kudaibergen (University of Cambridge, UK)

 

Panel 2C-2: Landscapes of Socialist Peripheries: Eastern-European Regimes Interacting with Environments

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair: Anatoly Pinsky (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Anna Mazanik (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Germany)

Anna Sokolova (University of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

Wild Crop Socialism: Consumer Cooperation and Food Accumulation on the Margins of the Soviet Union

Viktor Pál (University of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

How to include the voices of local communities and activists through the environmental history of rivers in Eastern Europe

Adelina Stefan (University of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

Tourism and Environment in Socialist Romania: Landscape Transformations on the Romanian Black Sea Coast, 1950s-1980s

 

Panel 2C-3: Public opinion in authoritarian states of Eurasia: comparative perspective

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Margarita Zavadskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki/Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland)

Andrey Tkachenko (Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan) & David Karpa (University of Bremen, Germany)

Language Proficiency, Export of Propaganda and Media

Margarita Zavadskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki/Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland) & Aleksei Gilev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Supporting the War vs. Supporting the Regime: Evidence from the List Experiment

David Karpa (University of Bremen, Germany) & Michael Rochlitz (University of Oxford, UK)

Harmony, but at what cost? Public perceptions of algorithmic governance and pre-emptive repression in Central Asia

 

Panel 2C-4: Memory and Myth: Analyzing Historical Revisionism and National Identity

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Ryan Reed (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ekaterina Gonchar (CERES, University of Toronto, Canada)

Manipulated History: the Use of Imperial Narratives in Russia's Justifications pertaining to its Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

Valentyna Kharkhun (Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University, Ukraine/Tallinn University, Estonia)

Warring Memory: Representing the Russo-Ukrainian War in Ukraine’s Museums

Malgorzata Abassy (Jagiellonian University, Poland)

The Ideas of the Polish "Solidarity" Movement in the Thought of Russian Oppositionist Alexei Navalny: Social, Political and Cultural Contexts - A Comparative Perspective

 

Panel 2C-5: Ideological and Religious Dimensions of Conflict

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair: Elina Kahla (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Santeri Kytöneva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Examining the idea of Russia as the Katechon in the “SVO” among neoconservatives

Mira Ruokolainen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Categorizing Islam Between the Sacred and the Profane: Russia’s Use of Force Beyond the ‘Holy War’

Precious Chatterje-Doody (The Open University, UK)

Authoritarianism, religion and resistance: Identities, information and war

 

Panel 2C-6: Trade Unions Legal Mobilization and Professional Rights in Russia

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Glyants (Centre Max Weber, ENS de Lyon, France)

Conceptualising loyalty and resistance in authoritarian regimes via the studies of Russian trade unions after 2022

Ekaterina Khodzhaeva (Nantes Institute for Advanced Studies, France)

Provincial Lawyering: Professional Rights and Limitations in Criminal Defense

 

Panel 2C-7: Feminist and LGBTQ+ Activists in Russia and Beyond: Media Representations, Resistance Tactics, and Reassembled Identities

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Yulia Gradskova (Södertörn University, Sweden)

Discussant: Saara Ratilainen (Tampere University, Finland)

Galina Miazhevich (Cardiff University, UK)

Russian high-profile celebrities and (diasporic) feminist antiwar resistance

Alisa Virtanen (Tampere University, Finland)

Queer (in)visibility in Russian liberal media: the role of media under authoritarian Russian regime

Pauliina Lukinmaa (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)

Micropolitics of identity/difference during the belligerent times: Russian-speaking LGBTIQ+ activists in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Daniil Zhaivoronok (Tampere University, Finland)

Activist-Influencers and Feminist Collective Action in Russia: Power Dynamics in the Feminist Anti-War Resistance

 

Panel 2C-8: Studying Repression in Times of War: Cross Perspectives Between Scholars and Civil Society Activists

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Gilles Favarel-Garrigues (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), CERI/Sciences Po, France)

Daniil Beilinson (OVD Info)

Transforming the role of CSOs in the context of advancing Authoritarianism: the case of OVD-Info

Françoise Dauce (Center for Russian, Caucasian and East European Studies, France)

How to network authoritarianism ? CSOs facing online repressions in Russia

Anne Le Huerou (Paris Nanterre University, France)

Opposing torture in today’s Russia : exploring the room left for csos activism by means of law in post-2022 Russia

Polina Kurakina (OVD-Info)

Analysing anti-war repression in the closing information space: case-study of OVD-Info

 

Panel 2C-9: Cultural Resistance and Transformation in Authoritarian Settings

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Mika Perkiömäki (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

John Nelson (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland) & Maia Sigua (Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Georgia)

The influence of authoritarianism on music and how Georgia survived

Aspen Brinton (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)

Art, Civil Society, Subversion: resistance and existential transformation in authoritarian cultures

Natalia Skorokhod (George Washington University, USA)

Contemporary drama as a tool for social protest: the case of Esther Bol

 

2C-10: Substance Use, Incarceration, and Healthcare Innovations in Crisis Contexts

Room: Hall 24 (5th floor)

Chair: Yuliya Brin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Dalida Mukasheva (Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan)

Impact of incarceration on the health of women with substance use disorders in Kazakhstan

Sarah Sokhey (University of Colorado Boulder, USA)

Crisis Control: Navigating Covid-19 across Wartime Ukraine

 

18:00 - 19:30 | Helsinki City Hall (Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13)

The City of Helsinki will be hosting us in the City Hall for an evening reception. Join us for a chance to network with fellow attendees, enjoy refreshments, and experience the historic ambiance of one of Helsinki's most iconic buildings. This reception provides an excellent opportunity to unwind after the day's sessions and engage in informal discussions in a beautiful setting.
Please be prepared to present the confirmation QR code of the registration at the entrance.

Friday 25 October 2024

9:00-9:45 | Slavonic Library Tour (Optional)

Join us for an exclusive guided tour of the Slavonic Library at the National Library of Finland. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the extensive collections, which include rare manuscripts, historical documents, and a vast array of Slavic and Eastern European literature. The library staff will offer insights into the library's history, its role in supporting academic research, and the unique resources available for scholars studying Slavic languages, cultures, and histories.

Information regarding signing up for the tour will be sent via email. 

10:00 - 11:30 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Roundtable 3A-1: Trauma-informed Research of Displacement and Refugeehood: Challenges and Relevant Methods

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Elena Bogdanova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Maija Jäppinen (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Vitalii Lebediuk (National University of Ostroh Academy, Ukraine)

Lotta Carlsson (Center for Psychotraumatology of the Deaconess Institute/Council of Europe’s Committee against Torture, Finland)

 

Panel 3A-2: Exploring Chinese Governance: Civil Society and Global Engagement

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Julie Yu-Wen Chen (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Natasha Kuhrt (King's College London, UK) & Valentina Feklyunina (Newcastle University, UK)

Russia, China and the "Global South

Zeming Zhang (Tsinghua University, China)

Exploring Democracy and Authoritarianism: Chinese-style Democracy and International Relations

Taru Salmenkari (University of Helsinki, Finland)

NGOization, Authoritarian Resilience, and the New Climate Consensus in China

 

Panel 3A-3: Repressive Legislation and Political Agency: Comparative Perspectives

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Elena Holmgren (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Maxim Krupskiy (The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA)

'"Foreign Agents" Legislation: Between Democratic Resilience and Weaponized Transparency

Ivan Serbin (Tampere University, Finland)

Discourses of Suspicion in Actor Designations: Articulation of Legal Subjects in Foreign Agent Law

Daniella Slabinski (University of Oslo, Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages, Norway)

Illiberal laws and the quest for agency in the Russian State Duma

 

Panel 3A-4: Resisting Authoritarianism in (Post)Yugoslavia

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Andrew Graan (Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies, Finland)

Discussant: Haris Dajc (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

Miranda Jakisa (University of Vienna, Austria)

Resistance on Screen: Partisan songs and choirs in Yugoslav film

Jani Korhonen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

The census as a site of silent resistance: non-ethnic responses in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav censuses

Helena Stolnik Trenkić (Cambridge University, UK)

Self-determination as resistance discourse in Kosovo, 1967-8'

Brendan Humphreys (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Brothers against Unity: armed resistance to Tito’s Yugoslavia

 

Panel 3A-5: Russia's Necroimaginaries 1

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Andrei Rogatchevski(UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway)

Svetlana Stephenson (London Metropolitan University, UK)

The carnival of death: Transgression, enjoyment and violence in Putin’s Russia

Emma Rimpiläinen (IRES Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden)

“It’s very hard to convey any arguments or facts to them:” Claims of zombification in the Donbas war

Thomas Drew (University of Manchester, UK)

Necro-Icons: Memorials, Martyrdom and the "Special Military Operation

 

Panel 3A-6: Media Manipulation and Ideological Battles

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair: Santeri Kytöneva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Kenzie Burchell (University of Toronto, Canada)

Autocratic Imagery & Individualized Solidarity: Social Media Reporting and Exploitability of the Liberal Democratic Order

Yahor Azarkevich (University of Warwick, UK)

Challenging Russian state on its own ideological field: The Wagner Group’s domestic political PR

Johnny Amundson (University of Toronto, Canada)

As Seen on TV: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Russia and America

 

Panel 3A-7: From Activism to Authoritarianism in Georgia, Poland, and Belarus

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Yuliya Bidenko (V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine)

Lia Tsuladze (Tbilisi State University/Center for Social Sciences, Georgia)

Backstage Decisions, Frontstage Agenda, and the Return of Political Activism in Georgia

Łukasz Jureńczyk (Kazimierz Wielki University, Poland)

Resisting authoritarianism and restoring liberal democracy in Poland

Sergei Mudrov (Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw, Poland))

The 2020 Protests in Belarus: Why the Failure Was Almost Inevitable

 

Panel 3A-8: Disruptions: Political Economy Perspectives and Resistance to Authoritarianism in Eurasia and Beyond

Room: Hall 24 (5th floor)

Chair: Sirke Mäkinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Emilia Palonen (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Asel Doolotkeldieva (George Washington University, USA)

Spatial and temporal disruptions of authoritarian status quo in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan beyond civil society and rival elites

Iuliia Gataulina (Tampere University, Finland)

Porous boundaries of resistance: Translating an authoritarian-neoliberal university

Anni Kangas (Tampere University, Finland)

Authoritarianism and political risk in critical raw material resource imaginaries of Central Asia

 

Panel 3A-9: Belarus: Protests, Repression, and Social Dynamics

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair: Jouni Järvinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Aleksandra Oczkowicz (Jagiellonian University, Poland)

Role of independent trade unions in Belarus: suppressed influence on democratic progress

Amelie Tolvin (University of Toronto, Canada)

Echoes of Dissent: The Legacy of Protest on Repression

Roman Urbanowicz (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Social reproduction, politics of care, and futural antagonisms in pre-2020 Belarusian countryside

 

Panel 3A-10: Labour Markets, Migration and Political Attitudes in Cross Country Contexts

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Anna-Liisa Heusala (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Arina Dmitrenko (University of Toronto, Canada)

Labour Shocks and Resistance: how changes in the labour market shape anti Ukraine-Russia war sentiments in Kazakhstan

Liudmila Listrovaya (University of Michigan, USA)

Family, Fear, and Precarity as The Drivers of Silence. The New Russian Migrants’ Political Remittances and Emotional Extraterritoriality of Authoritarianism.

Eemil Mitikka (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Relationship between authoritarian disposition and political participation in cross-country perspective

 

Panel 3A-11: Reform, Resilience, and Residuals: Ukraine’s Domestic Reorientation Policies

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Tom Røseth (Norwegian Defence University College, Norway)

Andrew Wilson (University College London, UK)

Ukraine after Oligarchy? The Decline of Rent-Seeking in Ukraine

Olena Bogdan (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine)

Religious Freedom and Security: Are There Any Dilemmas for Ukraine and the EU?

Geir Flikke (University of Oslo, Norway)

Treaty Nesting for Sovereignty: Ukraine’s Struggle for International Legality

11:30 - 13:00 | Lunch Break

There are several dining options near the venue. Within the Metsätalo building there is a University Cafe (UniCafe) serving lunch. A short 5 minute walk away there is the Kluuvi mall which also has several restaurants. 2 minutes away from Metsätalo there is also the Fennia Block which has several restaurants. 

12:00 - 13:00 | Walking Tour (Optional)

Are you interested in learning more about the historical and intellectual development of Helsinki? Join us for a guided walking tour that explores the city's academic and cultural landmarks. This tour will highlight key sites tied to Helsinki's role in shaping Finnish intellectual life, its architectural evolution, and the broader socio-political changes that have influenced the region. 

Book Launch: Российская модернизация: новая парадигма (Russian Modernization: A New Paradigm)

Room: Hall 1 (1st floor)

Chair: Markku Kivinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki Finland)

Markku Kangaspuro (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki Finland)

Brendan Humphreys (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki Finland)

Elias Krohn (Kulttuurivihkot, Finland)

Jussi Lassila (Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland)

Tuomas Forsberg (Tampere University, Finland)

Saara Ratilainen (Tampere University, Finland)

We are pleased to announce the launch of the  Russian edition of "Russian Modernization: A New Paradigm." Originally published in English in 2020, the book has now been translated into Russian, making its detailed exploration of Russia’s modernization accessible to a wider audience. The event will explore the book’s key insights into Russia's economic and political transformations, fostering dialogue among scholars and practitioners. Former Finnish President Tarja Halonen will provide a brief video introduction, adding her own perspective to the discussion

13:00 - 14:30 | Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39) 

Roundtable 3B-1: Book Discussion: The Kazakh Spring

Room: Hall 4 (2nd floor)

Chair: Asel Doolotkeldieva (George Washington University, USA)

Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany)

Anna Jordanova (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Diana T. Kudaibergen (University of Cambridge, UK)

 

Panel 3B-2: Russia's Necroimaginaries 2

Room: Hall 11 (3rd floor)

Chair: Emma Rimpiläinen (IRES Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden)

Andrei Rogatchevski (UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway)

Dying for Donbass: Reports from the frontlines (the hybrid phase)

Lars Kristensen (University of Skövde, Sweden)

From necrorealism to necroaesthetics: The cinema of high Putinism

Teemu Oivo (University of Eastern Finland, Finland) & Niko Väistö (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Non-verbal utilization of death in Russian TV propaganda

 

Panel 3B-3: Constructing Identity: Media and Discourse in Russia and Eastern Europe

Room: Hall 26 (5th floor)

Chair: Mika Perkiömäki (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Kirill Filimonov (Uppsala University, Sweden)

Reimagining Russian identity: Resistance and conflict transformation by media in exile

Anton Dinerstein (Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland) & Todd Sandel (University of Macau, Macao SAR, China)

Constructing “power” as a form identity in Russian-language political discourse: The case of Belarus

Alar Kilp (University of Tartu, Estonia)

Moral Conservatism and Strongman Rule in Estonian Mass and Elite Identity Discourses from 1990 until 2020

 

Panel 3B-4: Autocratic Evolution: From Tech Securitization to Party Expansion

Room: Hall 25 (5th floor)

Chair: Amelie Tolvin (University of Toronto, Canada)

Martin Dimitrov (Tulane University, USA)

Seeing Like a Party: How Expanding Party Size Improves Societal Legibility in Communist Regimes

Stephen Hall (University of Bath, UK)

Old Wine in New(ish) Bottles: The Problem of Co-optation in Russia's Non-Adaptive Autocracy

 

Panel 3B-5: Women’s Health as a Resource in an Authoritarian State: The Soviet Case

Room: Hall 7 (3rd floor)

Chair: Andreas Renner (LMU Munich, Germany)

Almira Sharafeeva (LMU Munich, Germany)

The Health of Working Women: The Female Body as a Labor Resource in the Era of Forced Industrialization

Matthias Uhl (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Germany)

Female Soldiers in the Red Army during the Second World War and the Origins of Military Gynecology

Elena Vishlenkova (LMU Munich, Germany)

Data on the Reproductive Health of the Nation as a Form of Political Protest in the USSR (1964-1982)

Birte Kohtz (Max Weber Network Eastern Europe, Germany)

“The Economic Efficiency of this Kind of Prophylaxis is Tenfold” – Prenatal Diagnostics and Women's Health as a Resource during the Last Decade of the USSR

 

Panel 3B-6: Resisting Authoritarianism: Ukraine’s Society at War

Room: Hall 2 (2nd floor)

Chair: Geir Flikke (University of Oslo, Norway)

Discussant: Tetiana Kostiushchenko (Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine)

Tor Bukkvoll (Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Norway)

Social and Regional Dimensions of the Ukrainian Willingness to Resist and Fight

Cynthia Buckley (University of Illinois, USA)

Returns and Reconstructions: The Salience of Ukraine's Identity at War

Tobias Sæther (Norwegian Command and Staff College, Norway)

Why Does Civil Society Continue to Matter? Civil-military Relations as crisis management in Ukraine´s War of Defense, 2022 and Onwards

 

Panel 3B-7: Blurring the Lines. How the Russian State and Civil Society Make Sense of Each Other

Room: Hall 6 (3rd floor)

Chair: Mariia Vasilevskaia (OVD-Info)

Daria Kololenko (OVD-Info& Daria Rud (Participating in Individual Capacity)

Data analysis, transitional justice or life prohibition: different optics for seeing political repressions in (non)experts 

Oleksandra Pozhivotko & Daria Korolenko (OVD-Info)

Killing it softly. Everyday repression and soft political violence

Ekaterina Golenkova (LMU Munich, Germany/OVD-Info)

Media in wartime: Persecution & response

Anna Kalinina (Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany) & Mariia Vasilevskaia (OVD-Info)

Defying the Acts of Naming: the Zone of (Non-)Compliance in Critical Civil Engagement in Russia

 

Panel 3B-8: State Violence Nostalgia and Foreign Influence: Understanding Political Dynamics and Support 

Room: Hall 5 (3rd floor)

Chair: Olga Kantokoski (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elisabeth Anstett (CNRS, France)

The invisible corpses of State violence: elements of post-Soviet necropolitics

Ryan Reed (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Entangling Russia’s Penitentiary Pasts: Identity in Official Memories of the Gulag

Marius Diaconescu (Romanian Center for Russian Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania)

Why is Putin the most popular foreign leader in the Republic of Moldova?

Diana Rafailova (Centre for East European and International Studies, Germany)

Support for Ukraine as a Historical Necessity? Experimental Evidence from Germany

 

Panel 3B-9: Politics as Spectacle: Right-Wing Festivals Memory Contestation and Statism

Room: Hall 12 (3rd floor)

Chair: Katalin Miklossy (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Tatyjana Szafonova (Comenius University, Slovak Republic)

The Big Kurultaj Festival in Hungary: A Surprising Display of Right-Wing Solidarity and Resistance To Pro-Russian Politics

Tatiana Golova (Centre for East European and International Studies, Germany) & Liliia Sablina (Central European University, Austria)

Reframing the Past: Memory Contestation Among Post-Soviet Migrants Amid the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

Ivan Fomin (Charles University, Czech Republic)

Ideological Patterns of Putin’s Statism: From Patriotic Proclamations to Wartime Mobilization

Eszter Borissza (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)

Aspects of the Russian Commemorative Practice of the Victory Day Military Parade in the Context of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War

 

Panel 3B-10: Authoritarian Pronatalist Biopolitics and Activist Resistance

Room: Hall 8 (3rd floor)

Chair: Daniil Zhaivoronok (Tampere University, Finland)

Yuliya Gradskova (Södertörn University, Sweden)

Authoritarian management of the demographic anxiety and patriotism (on the example of GONGO Women's Union of Russia)

Polina Kislitsyna (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland) & Mariya Levitanus (University of Edinburgh, UK)

“I never thought I would live here”: Russian queer emigration after February 2022

Pauliina Lukinmaa (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)

Transnational technospheres of LGBTIQ+ activism and Putinite biopolitics

Dimitrii Dorogov (Södertörn University, Sweden)

"Traditional values" as a cure: securitization of HIV/AIDS in Russia

 

Panel 3B-11: Towards new political realities, imaginaries and solidarities in/of East Europe

Room: Hall 24 (5th floor)

Chair: Keith Brown (Arizona State University, USA)

Autonomism and Mutuality: Why villages matter

Discussant: Sarah Green (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Tone Bringa (University of Bergen, Norway)

Repurposing old political and cultural allegiances in the service of future state orders: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eastern Europe writ small

Elina Troscenko (University of Bergen, Norway)

Embattled Nations and Uncertain Futures

 

Panel 3B-12: Russian-Speakers Negotiating Belonginess in the Context of War in Ukraine: Ageing, Gender and Social Relations

Room: Hall 9 (3rd floor)

Chair: Elena Bogdanova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ilkka Pietilä (Helsinki University, Finland)

Intersectionality in experiencing discrimination under under challenging conditions

Tatiana Glushkova (Helsinki University, Finland)

Older migrants' belonging in a time of change: population based study on older Russian speaking migrants in Finland

Larisa Shpakovskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Broken ties: negotiations of friendships by older Russian speaking men in Finland

14:30 - 15:00 | 3rd Floor, Metsätalo (Fabianinkatu 39)

 

Please join us for some coffee, tea, and light snacks 

15:15 - 16:15 | Think Corner/Tiedekulma (Yliopistonkatu 4)

Benjamin Nathans | To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement   

Associate Professor of History

University of Pennsylvania

16:30 - 17:30 | University of Helsinki Main Building (Auditorium F2044)

Join us in the Main Building for the closing session of the 23rd Aleksanteri Conference. This final gathering will include reflections on the conference's key themes and an announcement for next year's 24th Annual Aleksanteri Conference.

We are also pleased to feature a musical performance by Kukuvitsa, a Helsinki-based choir. Kukuvitsa specializes in traditional vocal music from Eastern Europe, performing pieces from White Karelia and the Baltic region down to Bulgaria and the Balkans.