On Thursday, 5 March 2026, Gavin Slade delivered a guest lecture at the University of Helsinki organized by the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy. The topic of the lecture was “What is the Global East Good for? Prisons and Punishment in Post-Soviet Eurasia.” Gavin Slade is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, and a criminologist specialising in the study of prisons, punishment and organized crime.
According to Slade, criminological theories developed in the Global North and the Global South are insufficient to explain prison systems and their development in post-Soviet Eurasia. He proposes the concept of the “Global East,” which could help to better understand the region’s distinctive characteristics and punishment policies more broadly. In his lecture, Slade discussed the concept of the Global East in relation to prisoner governance, efforts to reduce imprisonment, and punitive attitudes among the population.
Approximately 20 interested participants attended the lecture, and it was followed by a lively discussion.