Programme

Altogether this encompasses nearly 200 individual presentations. Conference guests are invited to attend a guided tour of the Slavonic Library and two evening receptions. The receptions are hosted by the City of Helsinki, as well as the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies & the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki. A book exhibition will take place at the main conference venue (hall 10).

Scroll down to browse the programme or use the quick links to find the right panel.

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor live stream

Address: Unioninkatu 40 / Fabianinkatu 39.

Opening words by Professor Markku Kangaspuro, Director of the Aleksanteri Institute and Assistant Professor Daria Gritsenko, Chair of the organising committee.


Ceremonial speaker Mr Tero Vauraste, The Arctic Economic Council & Mariadi Ltd.

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Chair: Daria Gritsenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Benjamin Peters (University of Tulsa and Yale Law School, USA): The Soviet Internet: Rethinking Network Technology

Anastasiya Bonch-Osmolovskaya (Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia): Digital Invasion in Humanities Scholarship: Benefits, Expectations and Dismay

1A: Children Left Without Parental Care in Russia: Institutions, Discourses and Social Policy from Early Soviet Era Until Nowadays

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair: Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland & Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Discussant: Ira Jänis-Isokangas (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Klimova and Meri Kulmala (University of Helsinki, Finland): Reforming Russia's Child Welfare: Institutional Change and Unintended Consequences

Larisa Shpakovskaya and Zhanna Chernova (Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia): Early Soviet Child Welfare Politics: Ideology and Institutional Design or How to Solve the Problem of ‘Besprizorniki’ (Neglected Children)

Anna Klepikova and Anna Altukhova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Children Left Without Parental Care in the 1990s: From “Future Criminals” to ”National Gene Pool”

1B: Inequalities and Gaps of Care in Turbulent Aging Societies I

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor - live stream

Chair: Aliia Nizamova  (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

Discussant: Antero Olakivi (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elena Bogdanova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): The System of Long-Term Care in Contemporary Russia: Starting Points and Initial Attempts of Reforming

Nuriiar Safarov (University of Helsinki, Finland): Age- and Migrancy-Specific Barriers to Access the Digitalised Public Services: Ethnographic Study of Russian-Speaking People in Finland

Gaiane Safarova and Anna Safarova (Russian Academy of Sciences): Changing Structure of Working Age Population in Russia in the Context of Population Ageing

1C: Russia's Cultural Statecraft: Fields of Nuclear Energy, History, Literature and Higher Education

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor

Chair: Tuomas Forsberg (Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland & Tampere University, Finland)

Discussant: Nadja Douglas (Centre for East European and International Studies, ZOiS, Berlin, Germany)

Lina Klymenko (Tampere University, Finland): Forging Common History: Russia's Cultural Statecraft and Soviet War Memorials Abroad

Pallavi Pal (Tampere University, Finland): Russia’s Nuclear Energy Sector and Cultural Statecraft

Sirke Mäkinen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Higher Education as a Tool for Cultural Statecraft?

Angelos Theocharis (University of Edinburgh, UK): "Russian Literature Can Fix Everything.”: Read Russia and Cultural Statecraft

1D: High-Tech, Low-Tech: Transforming Museums

This panel is CANCELLED.

Max Rosochinsky  will present his paper Museification and Memefication in the Digital Literary Spaces and Media in panel 3B: Cultural Flows and Technologies Across Time and Space.

1E: Digital Learning

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

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

Konstantin Zamyatin (Durham University, UK) and Ekaterina Arutyunova (Institute of Sociology of FCTAS, Russian Academy of Sciences): An Ethnolinguistic Conflict on the Compulsory Learning of the State Languages in the Republics of Russia: Public Policies, Public and Social Media Discourses

Anna Chursina and Grigorii Kliucharev (Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences): Adult Lifelong Learning in Knowledge-Intensive Enterprises

Nina Trubnikova (Peoples' Friendship University of Russia): Human Resources and Education in Digital B2B: New Russian Challenges

Valeriya Utkina (Higher School of Economics, Russia): The Future of Female Bureaucrats in the Era of E-Democracy

1F: Blogs, Fans, Videos and Islam in Digital Eurasian Spaces

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

Chair: Saara Ratilainen (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Kaarina Aitamurto (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Dragana Cvetanovic (University of Helsinki, Finland): Muslim Youth and Video Documentaries in the Western Balkans

Saara Ratilainen (University of Helsinki, Finland): Digital Mediation of Religion in Russophone Online Fan Communities

1G: Smart Urban Environments

Venue: Hall 11, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Elena Evdokimova (Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences): Digital Technologies and Change of Work-Life Balance of St. Petersburg Population

David Gogishvili (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Suzanne Harris-Brandts (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA): Projecting the Future: Novel Technologies of Spectacle in Nul-Surtan, Kazakhstan

Olga Sergeeva and Daniil Glebov (St.Petersburg State University, Russia): Computer Game Citizens Play as the Reality of New Urbanism

1H: Master's Programme in Russian Studies / Poster Session

Venue: Think Corner Lounge, Address: Yliopistonkatu 4

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

Anna Belokur, Sustainable Development in Sparsely Populated Areas of the Russian Arctic/Far East

Jan Brigden, Russia and Western European Populism

Vilja Byström, Contemporary Dance in Russia

Kristina Goljakov, Finnish-Russian Cross-Border Cooperation in Waste Management

Ivan Lavrentjev, Securitization in Estonia and the Russian Speaking TV-Channel ETV+

Paula Rossi,  RT’s Coverage of the European Parliamentary Elections in 2019

2A: Non-Democratic Legitimacy in the Digital Age

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Chair and discussant: Andrey Starodubtsev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Shpakovskaya (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany): Digitalization and Legitimacy in an Authoritarian Context: The Case of the Chinese Party-State Reclaiming Representativeness in the Online Space

Tatiana Litvinova (Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia): E-Government in Russia: Indicators, Problems and Opportunities for Development

Yury Kabanov (Higher School of Economics, Russia): ICTs in Authoritarian Legitimation Strategies: A Pilot Empirical Inquiry

Daria Gritsenko and Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Civic Technology in Non-Democratic Context: The Case of Russian Cities

2B: Conceptualisating (Eur)Asia

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Zachary Paikin (University of Kent, UK): Through Thick and Thin? Russia, China and the Future of Eurasian International Society

Ozhet Shegirbayev (Independent Research, Kazakhstan): Belt&Road Influence in Central Asia

Nozomu Ishiwi (Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University, Japan): Western Papyrus on the Silk Road and Japanese Pilotage on the Senkaku Maritime Road – Two Rebuttals Against Chinese Promotions

2C: Inequalities and Gaps of Care in Turbulent Aging Societies II

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor -live stream

Chair: Elena Bogdanova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

Discussant: Elena Zdravomyslova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

Arkadia Savchenko (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Caregiver as a “Career” for a Relative of an Elderly Person with Dementia

Aliia Nizamova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Gerontechnologies in Ageing with Dementia: Human-Nonhuman Intra-action in Nursing Homе

Humay Akhundzade (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Cyberspace and Commercialization of Family Eldercare (In Azerbaijan)

2D: Digital Youth: Gaming and Political Participation

Venue: Hall 11, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Arseniy Svynarenko (Tampere University, Finland)

Olga A. Burukina (University of Vaasa, Finland): The Significance and Ambivalent Influence of Computer Games on Russian Adolescents

Anna Gureeva (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia): Media Communication Activity of Public Authorities in the Internet-Space as a Tool for Construction of the Political Culture of Russian Youth

Ekaterina Orekh and Varvara Sechkareva (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Gamification of Civic Activity (Current Cases in Modern Russia)

Elena Bogomiagkova and Stefaniia Shmalko-Zatinatskaia (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Newsgames as a Strategy of Problematization in Modern Russia

2E: Identity and Cross-Border Policy: Theoretical Frameworks and the Case of Russians in Kazakhstan

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair: Tuomas Forsberg (Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland & Tampere University, Finland)

Discussant: Igor Zevelev (George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies)

Isabella Duarte Franchini (National University of Singapore): National Identities, Foreign Policy and International Order: A Framework for Analysis

Evgeny Manzhurin (University of Eastern Finland): Emergence of the 'National Question' in Soviet Press in the Wake of December 1986 Protests in Kazakhstan

Leyla Sayfutdinova (University of Eastern Finland): Post-Crimea Official Discourse on Ethnic Russians in the near Abroad: The Case of “Compatriots” in Kazakhstan

2F: Cultural Technologies of the Production of ‘Nature’

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

Chair: Anna Sokolova (Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences & University of Zurich, Switzerland)

Discussant: Elena Nikiforova (Center for Independent Social Research)

Ekaterina Melnikova (Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) & European University at St.Petersburg, Russia): Making ‘Nature’ in the Heritage Site: The Case of Valamo

Alla Bolotova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Zoned Perception of the Environment in Industrialized Russian Arctic: 'Nature' vs. 'Natural Recources'

Lidia Rakhmanova (National Research Tomsk State University, Russia): Сapturing to Save: Ob' Fishermen's Notions on Human Intervention in Natural Processes

Natalia Kosyak (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): The Desert of Soyna: From “an Ecological Disaster Zone” to “the Perl of Sand” (Nenets AO, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia)

2G: Technologies of Governing and Biopolitical Governance in (Post)-Communist Market States

Venue: Hall 4, 2nd floor

Chair and discussant: Marina Khmelnitskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Anna Tarasenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland / Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia): Neoliberalism Practiced Through New Public Management Techniques: The Case of Social Service Provision in Russia

Andrey Makarychev (University of Tartu, Estonia): Urban ‘Biopolitics from Below’ in Estonia’s Borderland City: Narva in Search for a Lifestyle

Catherine Owen (University of Exeter, UK): Participatory Budgeting and Political Subjectivities in St Petersburg and Shanghai

3A: Managing Health and Disease Online

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Larisa Shpakovskaya (Higher School of Economics, Russia)

Konstantin Galkin (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): The Role of Online Disease Communities and Self-Management of the Disease in the Elderly People with Chronic Diseases in the Villages of the Leningrad Region

Tatiana Novikova (St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Russia): Cyber-Psychologist – the Possibility or the Nightmare?

Tatiana Krihtova (Saint Tikhon Orthodox University, Russia): On-Line Practices About Reproductive Health Around Zachatievsky Monastery

3B: Cultural Flows and Technologies Across Time and Space

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chairs and discussants: Ira Österberg (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland) and Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Max Rosochinsky (Central European University, Hungary) and Oksana Maksymchuk (University of Arkansas, USA): Museification and Memefication in the Digital Literary Spaces and Media

Valeriya Kalkina (Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russia): Between Humour and Public Commentary: Digital Re-Appropriation of the Soviet Propaganda Posters as Internet Memes

Daria Tkachuk and Alexander Pivovarov (St.Petersburg State University, Russia): Music Shaping: Corporeality Capitalization in Digital Era

Gvantsa Baidoshvili and Sopiko Khvedelidze (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia): Music Rights Enforcement and Emerging Technology in Caucasus Region

3C: Newsfeeds and Digital Media Policies

Venue: Hall 4, 2nd floor

Chair and discussant: Andrei Semenov (Yale University, USA & Perm State University, Russia)

Sergei Pashakhin and Olessia Koltsova (Higher School of Economics, Russia): Agenda Divergence in a Developing Conflict: Quantitative Evidence from Ukrainian and Russian TV Newsfeeds

Anna Gladkova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia): The Coverage of the State National Policy in Russian Digital Media: Current State and Main Trends

Sergei Pashakhin (Higher School of Economics, Russia): Media Digest and News Agendas Online: A Case of the 2017 Protests in Russia

3D: Pre- and Post-Digital Perspectives on Religion and Technologies

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Kaarina Aitamurto (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Boris Knorre and Anna Murashova (Higher School of Economics, Russia): Russian Orthodox Church and Digitalization: The Argument of the Orthodox Conservators Against Information Technologies and Electronic Means of Personal Data Control

Nina Zakharina (Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, Russia): Old Russian Chant Books as Databases

3E: Urbanisation and Smart Cities

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Polina Kolozaridi (Higher School of Economics, Russia & Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts, Russia)

Galina Eremicheva (Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences): Digital Information Inequality in the Modern "Smart City"

Anna Sumskaya and Alina Lozovskaya (Ural Federal University, Russia): Symbolic Capital of Territories of "Analogue" and "Digital" Generations of Russians

Alexander Soldatkin and Natalia Patokina (Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia): Potential for Online Participation in Urban Improvements Discussion in Nizhny Novgorod

4A: Russian Information Influence and Democracy in Europe

Venue: Hall 4, 2nd floor

Chair: Teemu Oivo (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Dmitry Yagodin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Vera Tolz (University of Manchester), Stephen Hutchings (University of Manchester) and Precious Chatterje-Doody (Open University, UK): Is RT an Attack on Democracy?

Teemu Oivo (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): RT, Sputnik and Finnish Online Intermediaries

Mariëlle Wijermars (Maastricht University, Netherlands; University of Helsinki): Russia vs. Fake News: Foreign Information Influence in Recent Russian Political Discourse

4B: Power behind the Throne: How are Succession Strategies faring in Kazakhstan, Kygyzstan, Cuba and Russia?

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair: Edwin Bacon (University of Lincoln, UK)

Jeremy Smith (University of Eastern Finland)

Isabella Duarte Franchini (National University of Singapore)

Emil Dzhuraev (OSCE Academy, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

Bo Petersson (Malmö University, Sweden)

4C: Prospects for Green Growth in Russia

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Chair and discussant: Laura Solanko (BOFIT, Bank of Finland)

Anna Korppoo (Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway): Informal Institutions as a Barrier to Green Growth in Russia

Nina Tynkkynen (Åbo Akademi, Finland): Green Growth in Russia – the Concept and Practice

Elena Klyuchnikova (Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences): Waste Management Sector as a Generator of Green Growth in the Russian Arctic: Murmansk Region as Example

Alla Bolotova and Elena Gorbacheva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Recycling Initiatives of Youth in Industrial Cities in the Russian Arctic: Environmentally Responsible Behaviour in the Absence of Structural Opportunities

4D: Using Digital Technologies for Legal Practices

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Marianna Muravyeva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Nadja Douglas (Centre for East European and International Studies, ZOiS, Berlin, Germany): Police and Protest in the Digital Age – Moldova and Armenia in a Regional Perspective

Ekaterina Mouliarova (Moscow Lomonosov State University, Russia & The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies): “Culture of the Silent Majority”? Access to Justice of the Elderly Population in Digital Age

4E: Cultural Utopias of the Past

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Andy Willimott (Queen Mary University of London, UK): Scientific Utopia in the Home: Early Soviet Discourse and Practice

Miglena Dikova-Milanova (Ghent University, Belgium): The Space Voyage in Soviet and Modern Bulgarian Children’s Literature: Neznaika and Yan Bibiyan Fly to the Moon

Viktoriia Merzliakova (Russian State University for the Humanities & Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration): Popular Culture and Re-Inventing the Image of 1990-s in New Media

Rosario Napolitano (Riga Stradins University, Latvia & University of Latvia): Between New Technologies and "New" Society: The Sovietisation of Latvian Cinema During Stalin Time (1945-1953)

4F: Digitalization in Education

Venue: Hall 11, 3rd floor

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

Discussant:  Anne Nevgi (Centre for University Teaching and Learning, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Maria Parshina (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia): The Role of Digital Art in the Process of Training Specialists in the System of Secondary Vocational Education in Russia

Liudmila Voronova and Patrik Åker (Södertörn University, Sweden): Photography Education and Digital Transformation in Russia: Discourses on Photographic Realism

Anastasia Lukina (Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia): Teacher Innovation Potential in the Context of Russian Digital Policy in Education

4G: Digital Humanities and Managing History

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

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

Susan Grunewald (University of Pittsburgh, USA): Digital Humanities, GIS, and New Understandings of Soviet History

Sergei Kornienko (Perm State University, Russia) and Dinara Gagarina (Higher School of Economics, Russia): How Information Systems Change the Technology of Working with Historical Data

Juan Manuel González (Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, Spain) and Mykola Makhortykh (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands): Re-Mixing Memories, Re-Shaping Protests: Historical Internet Memes as a Means of Framing Protest Campaigns in Ukraine and Venezuela

Maria Matskevich (Sociological Institute - Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences): Attitudes Toward Historical Past in Russia: Does the Internet Matter?

At the conference venue you can get lunch at the Unicafe, situated on the ground floor of the building. ThinkCorner also has a cafe, serving soups, salads, sandwiches and snacks all day long. The conference venue is located in the city centre, so there are several restaurants and cafes to choose from. Check MyHelsinki website for more information.

Venue: Think Corner Stage, Address: Yliopistonkatu 4 - live stream

Chair: Marianna Muravyeva (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ellen Rutten (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands): Technological Progress and the Dream of Imperfection: A Genealogy

Alina Sorgner (John Cabot University, Rome, Italy): New Digital Technologies and Individual Data Capital: Is There a New Gender Bias in the Digital Age?

Venue: 3rd floor lobby

Johanne Kalsaas (University of Bergen, Norway): Digital Discourses of the ‘New Cold War’: Russian Online Trolling and Network Propaganda in the Frode Berg Spy Case

Elena Khen (Higher School of Economics, Russia): Changing the Image of a Politician Under the Influence of a “Conservative Backlash” of Gender Order on the Example of the Chairman of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation - Valentina Matvienko

Sofia Khosueva (Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia): Islamic Education in Russian Dagestan: From Reading the Quran to Internet Communications

Natalya Kolesnik (Sociological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation): Key Players, Internet Technologies and Practices of Communication in the Election Campaign (The Case of St. Petersburg)

Serafima Osipenko (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Russia): Blockchain Implementation in the Government Sector. The Analysis of the Active Citizen Project (Russia) Adopting Blockchain Technology for Government Services Provision and Voting Processes as a Source of Legitimacy

Nadezhda Stepanova (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Greenhouse Emissions and Economic Growth in Yakutia

Georgy Tarasenko (Higher School of Economics, Russia): Does Internet Promote Gender Equality: Look at the Post-Communist World

5A: Surviving the Hard Times: Public and Private Responses to Economic Hardships in Russia

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

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

Discussant: Margarita Zavadskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Andrei Semenov (Yale University, USA & Perm State University, Russia): Arhythmic Tempo: Dynamics of Protest Attitudes in Russia (1996-2018)

Vyacheslav Loginov and Vsevolod Bederson (Perm State University, Russia): Good People, Bad Elections: The Participation of NGOs in the Elections in Contemporary Russia

Irina Shevtsova (Perm State University, Russia) and Andrei Semenov (Yale University, USA & Perm State University, Russia): Public and Private Perceptions of Economic Crisis in Russia

5B: Identity and Intervention: The Case of the Donbass

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair: Jeremy Smith (University of Eastern Finland)

Discussant: Bo Petersson (Malmö University, Sweden)

Sofia Tipaldou (University of Manchester, UK): Identity at War: The Role of Neo-Imperialism in Russia's Donbass Policy

Nikolai Mitrokhin (University of Eastern Finland & University of Bremen, Germany): Russian Nationalist Paramilitaries and the Donbass Crisis

Jonas Gejl Kaas (Aarhus University, Denmark): Why Did Russia Intervene in Kosovo and Ukraine? on the Role of Ontological Security Concerns in Post-Soviet Foreign Policy

5C: Media, Innovation, and Influence in an International Arena

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Stephen Hutchings (University of Manchester, UK)

Abel Polese (Dublin City University, Ireland & Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia) and Arnis Sauka (Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia): Informality and Innovation: An Evaluation of New Management and Business Technologies and Their Role on the Business Environment of the Former USSR

Elise Thorsen (Novetta, USA): Watching Game of Thrones in Yekaterinburg: International Streaming in the Russian Media Environment

5D: Doing Gender Online

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Alexander Kondakov (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olga Andreevskikh (University of Leeds, UK): Digital Spaces as a Locus of Contemporary Russian Feminist Activism: Opportunities and Constraints

Anastasia Andreyeva (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Emotional Labor, Precarity and Privacy: A study of Online Sex Work in Russia

Irina Anisimova (University of Bergen, Norway): Spinning Gender: Gendered Performances in Presidential Campaign, Russia 2018

Radmila Radojevic (Utrecht University of Applied Science, Netherlands) and Simeona Petkova (Amsterdam University of Applied Science, Netherlands): Imagining Female Tech Entrepreneurship in Southeast Europe

5E: Social Media Platforms and Online Communities

Venue: Hall 11, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Katja Lehtisaari (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olessia Koltsova, Yadviga Sinyavskaya and Alexander Porshnev (Higher School of Economics, Russia) & Yuri Rykov (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore): Vkontakte Users’ Social Capital: The Role of Privacy Concerns, Propensity to Make Connection and Access to Online Communities

Roman Maliushkin (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Culture Values of Russian Engineers Through the Lens of the Social Networking Service

Natalia Pavlushkina and Anna Smoliarova (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Decoding the Social Media News Consumer: A Comparison of Russian-Language Vk News Publics in Ukraine and Kazakstan

5F: Theories and Practice of Governing (Post) Soviet Arctic Cities

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

Chair: Maria Gunko (Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences)

Maria Gunko (Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences) and Elena Batunova (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy): “Comfortable Urban Environment” in Shrinking Arctic Cities

Nikolai Bobylev and Alexander Sergunin (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Urban Challenges in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation - from Post-Industrial to Liveable Cities.

Nadir Kinossian (Leibniz-Insitut für Länderkunde (IfL), Department of Regional Geography of Europe, Germany): Russia’s Arctic Policy Within the Multi-Scalar Context

Alexander Sergunin (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): The Problem of Innovations in Urban Strategic Planning: the Case of Russian Arctic Cities

5G: Preserving and Transmitting Cultural Narratives in the Digital Age

Venue: Hall 7, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Saara Ratilainen (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Dmitry Lanko (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): The Conflict Between "Fiziki" and "Liriki" in Contemporary Russian Prose: Semiotic Analysis of Alexey Ivanov's "Community"

Inna Sukhenko (University of Helsinki, Finland): Nuclear Awareness, Narrative Tools

Yuliya Balashova (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Literary Journalism in Russia and Japan: Methodology of Historical Comparative Analysis

Akvilė Stuart (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK): Research Through Musical Records: Preservation, Perception and Reception of Alexei Stanchinsky’s Works in the Modern Day

Roundtable: New Developments in Research Training in Russian and Eurasian Studies

Venue: Hall 4, 2nd floor

Chair: Ira Jänis-Isokangas (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olga Malinova (Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia)

Andrey Starodubtsev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland & Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Tatiana Tkacheva (Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Vladimir Gel'man (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland & European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

At the conference venue you can get lunch at the Unicafe, situated on the ground floor of the building. ThinkCorner also has a cafe, serving soups, salads, sandwiches and snacks all day long. The conference venue is located in the city centre, so there are several restaurants and cafes to choose from. Check MyHelsinki website for more information.

6A: Technological Mastery of the Environment

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Chair and discussant: Daria Gritsenko (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Susanne Wengle (University of Notre Dame, USA): The Environmental Context of the Transformation of Russia's Food System

Adi Kuntsman (Manchester Metroopolitan University, UK): Digital Environmental Visions: Will Digital Technologies Save Russia (And the Planet)?

Nikolay Rudenko (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): (Inter)Nationalization of the Self-Driving Car Technologies in Russia

Alessandro Vitale (University of Milan, Italy): The Impact of Soviet Nuclear Experiments in the Arctic Region. Environmental and Human Consequences

6B: Between Technology and Nature: Variability of Maternity Care in Russia

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor - live stream

Chair: Anna Temkina (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

Ekaterina Borozdina (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Evidence-Based Emotional Work: Russian Doula’s Professional Project

Darya Litvina (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Medicalization vs Naturalization: Multiple Perspectives on Reproductive Loss in Russia

Anastasiia Novkunskaya (University of Helsinki, Finland & European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): From a Field to a Perinatal Centre: The Infrastructure of Maternity Care in Russia

6C: Digital Spaces for Conflict

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair: Jussi Lassila (Finnish Institute of International Affairs)

Discussant: Marco Siddi (Finnish Institute of International Affairs)

Ekaterina Ananyeva (Charles University, Czechia): Russia as a Rising Power in Multilateral Institutions

Kenzie Burchell (University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada): When Impartiality Gives Way to Consistency and Conviction: Using Digital Humanities Methods to Examine Crisis Reporting in Syria by International Newswire Agencies

Paul Goode (University of Bath, UK): Artificial Intelligence, Geopolitics, and Nationalism: Putin’s Russia as a Pathway Case

Yoko Hirose (Keio University, Japan): Russian Hybrid Warfare: Focusing on Its Change in Characteristics and Effects for the Former USSR

6D: Pre-Digital Technologies in Imperial Russia and Eastern Europe

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

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

Marsha Siefert (Central European University, Hungary) Engendering Technology for Communication: Female Telegraphers in Eurasia, 1865-1900

Olha Martynyuk (National University of Ukraine "Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute"): The Bicycle Craze of 1890s Ukraine from a Global Perspective

Yana Agafonova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia & Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Public Readings with Magic Lantern in Late Imperial Russia

6E: Internet IRL: Russian Context of Co-Production

Venue: Hall 4, 2nd floor

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

Discussant: Polina Kolozaridi (Higher School of Economics, Russia & Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts, Russia)

Dmitry Muravyov (Higher School of Economics, Russia & Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts, Russia): The Co-Production of Politics and Technology in Russian Data Activism

Nina Ivashinenko (Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia & University of Glasgow, UK), Alla Varyzgina and Mikhail Teodorovich (Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia): Digital Inequality in the Russian Provincial Region

Lenya Yuldashev (Club for Internet and Society Enthusiasts, Russia): World Wide Network: Entanglements and Disentanglements of Infrastructure, Websites, and Ideas in Internet Histories

6F: Building Digital Economies

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Alina Sorgner (John Cabot University, Rome, Italy)

Anna Kovaleva (St. Petersburg State University of Economics, Russia) and Paweł Lula (Cracow University of Economics, Poland): Educating Young Technological Entrepreneur in the Epoch of Disruptive Innovations

Liliia Zemnukhova (European University at St. Petersburg): Digitalization and Its Sociotechnical Barriers: The Case of Russian Digital Economy

Daria Morozova & Olga Gurova (Aalborg University, Denmark): Commercializing Wearable Technologies: Comparison of Practices in Russia and Europe

Alisa Maximova (Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences): Configuring the User and the Technology in Automated Telephone Help Service in Russia

6G: Book launch From Russia with Code: Programming Migrations in Post-Soviet Times

Venue: Think Corner Lounge, Address: Yliopistonkatu 4

Benjamin Peters will be talking to three of the authors of From Russia with Code: Programming Migrations in Post-Soviet Times: Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland), Dmitrii Zhikharevich (London School of Economics, UK) and Ksenia Ermoshina (CNRS Center for Internet and Society, France).

7A: Forming Infrastructure – Transforming Society: Late Soviet Village and New Technologies

Venue: Hall 6, 3rd floor - live stream

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

Discussant: Ekaterina Melnikova (Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russia & European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

Ekaterina Emeliantseva Koller (University of Zurich, Switzerland): A TV in a Late Soviet Village House: An Object and a Thing Between "Rural" and "Urban" Life Styles

Anna Sokolova (University of Zurich, Switzerland & Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences): Late Soviet Timber Production Settlements: Between Technologies and Nature

Ekaterina Kurilova (University of Zurich, Switzerland): A View from Inside: Everyday Life in the Late Soviet Village Through the Eyes of the Local Amateur Filmmaker

7B: Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Russia and Beyond

Venue: Hall 8, 3rd floor

Chair: Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olga Bychkova (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Sci-Fi Worlds of Russian HI-Tech

Anna Chernysh (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia): Unexpectedly Blossomed: The Russian Regional Innovation Policy Institutionalization on the Case of Business Incubators

Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): New Value of Research in Modern Russia. Presentation of a Book Project on Innovation Policy and Scientific Entrepreneurship.

7C: New Social Policy and Governance in Russia: Research and Practice

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Chair: Francesco Durante (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Discussant: Abel Polese (Dublin City University, Ireland & Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia)

Sabine Kropp (Freie University Berlin, Germany): Social Responsibility of Russian Enterprises – Between Modern Governance and Path Dependence

Ulla Pape (Freie University Berlin, Germany) and Marina Khmelnitskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Ideas and Discourses in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Social Policy in Russia

Aleksandra Burdyak (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russia) and Marina Khmelnitskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Active Social Policy in Russia: Income Inequality and Demographics in Russian Housing Policy

7D: Digital Communication and Elections

Venue: Hall 11, 2nd floor

Chair and discussant: Margarita Zavadskaya (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Ilana Hartikainen (University of Helsinki, Finland): Polarization and Populism in Action: A Discourse Analysis of the 2019 Czech EP Election on Social Media

Nikita Tregubov (South Ural State University, Russia): Media Technologies and Voting in Modern Russia: Evidence from the Russian Election Studies

Aleksandra Urman (University of Bern, Switzerland) and Mykola Makhortykh (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands): Trolls, Bots and Everyone Else: Online Disinformation Campaigns and 2019 Presidential Elections in Ukraine

7E: Controlling Digital Space

Venue: Hall 2, 2nd floor

Chair and discussant: Katri Pynnöniemi (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki & National Defence University, Finland)

Liudmila Sivetc (University of Turku, Finland): Domain Name Blocking: How to Control Online Content by Digital Technologies

Mari Ristolainen and Juha Kukkola (Finnish Defence Research Agency, Finland): Closed, Safe and Secure: The Russian Sense of Information Security

Natalia Zaslavskaya (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Data Protection Problem: Enhanced Rights for Persons vs State Security (Case of Russia)

7F: Online Activism

Venue: Hall 12, 3rd floor

Chair and discussant: Dmitry Yagodin (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)

Olga Bronnikova (Université Grenoble Alpes, France) and Anna Zaytseva (Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France): “Don’t Say You Have Nothing to Hide”: How Ngos, Trainers and Activists Co-Produce Views on Digital Security and Privacy Protection in the Post-Soviet Space

Tetyana Lokot (Dublin City University, Ireland): Remaking Networked Citizenship: Visibility, Ephemerality and Agency on the Russian Internet

7G: Digitalization of Local Media in Non-Democratic Media Models: Implications for Local Communities and Public Engagement

Venue: Hall 4, 1st floor

Chair: Olga Dovbysh

Discussant: Olessia Koltsova (Higher School of Economics, Russia)

Kamilla Nigmatullina (St. Petersburg State University, Russia): Local Media for Audiences and Communities: What's the Difference?

Olga Dovbysh (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Hyperlocal Media in Russia and Their Roles for Public Engagement and Local Democracy

Marina Galkina and Anastasia Obraztsova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia): The Impact of New Media on Social and Political Processes on the Example of Kazakhstan

Venue: Hall 1, 1st floor - live stream

Address: Unioninkatu 40 / Fabianinkatu 39.

Andrey Indukaev (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Announcing the winner of the Aleksanteri poster award competition

Joni Virkkunen (Finnish Association for Russian and East European Studies FAREES, Finland) and Arto Mustajoki (University of Helsinki): Announcing the winner of the 2019 FAREES Idäntutkimus Best Article Award 

Sanna Turoma (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Closing remarks

Anna-Liisa Heusala (Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland): Announcing the theme for the Aleksanteri Conference 2020