Our team

Below you may find up-to-date information on the members of Mannerheim Working Group.
Katri Pynnöniemi

Associate Professor, Russian Security Policy 

Katri Pynnöniemi is Associate Professor at the University of Helsinki (Aleksanteri-institute) and holds the Mannerheim Chair of Russian Security Studies. The joint professorship between the University of Helsinki and the Finnish National Defense University was established in August 2017.   

Pynnöniemi has published widely on systems change in Russia and Russian foreign and security policy. Her latest publications include co-authored OA article Understanding Russia’s War against Ukraine: Political, eschatological and cataclysmic dimensions, Journal of Strategic Studies (2024), edited book Nexus of Patriotism and Militarism in Russia: Quest for internal unity (Helsinki University Press, 2021), co-authored article Perceptions of hybrid war in Russia: Means, targets and objectives identified in the Russian debate (Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2020); Russia’s National Security Strategy: Analysis of Conceptual Evolution (Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 2018). 

Santeri Kytöneva

Doctoral Researcher 

Santeri Kytöneva is currently working on an article-based doctoral dissertation as part of the Mannerheim Professorship of Russian Security Studies Working Group. In his doctoral dissertation, he examines the role of neoconservative actors in contemporary Russian ideology production through case examples. In the broader context, the political philosophical research seeks for ways to clarify why the seemingly marginal and radical ideas of Russian neoconservatives have become more prominent in Russian political discourse. 

His research employs case studies to examine how different ideas and thinkers are instrumentalised to fit the contemporary Russian regime’s needs. Moreover, the research explores ways to conceptualise and demystify the underlying strands of intellectual influence in the Russian ideological landscape whilst maintaining a critical view of the Russian regime’s aggressive means in furthering its security interests. Prior to starting his doctoral studies, Santeri graduated from the University of Jyväskylä with a master’s in social sciences and philosophy and has worked at the Finnish National Defence University as a research assistant.  

Viktor Lambin

Doctoral Researcher 

I'm a doctoral student in the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal, and Regional Changes. I hold a MA degree in Global and Regional Security Issues from Ural Federal University (Yekaterinburg, Russia, 2020), and M.Soc.Sc. degree in European and Nordic Studies from the University of Helsinki (2021). In my PhD studies, I focus on Russian strategic security communication, specifically on framing enemy images in the national discourse. Within this framework, I explore the so-called enemization in Russian public discourse in my PhD dissertation. In addition, I focus on Russian foreign politics in Europe, and Russia's security issues. 

Mira Ruokolainen

Doctoral Researcher 

Mira Ruokolainen’s current research centres on the interconnection of two discussions: study of developments in Russian strategic thought and analysis of systemic factors which lead to the targeting of the civilian population in war. Her doctoral study Russia’s Strategic ‘Islam’ focuses on how discourses and structures on Islam are used and framed to influence target audiences during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and to justify forceful strategies in exerting influence on population groups beyond its borders. The study aims to contribute to research about the dynamics between evolving perception of threats and strategies behind their deliberate distortions, due to especially but not exhaustively, strategic deception.

Amelie Tolvin

Visiting Researcher 

I am a visiting researcher with the Mannerheim Professorship of Russian Security Studies Working group until June 2026, where my focus is on Russian cognitive warfare and war rhetoric.

I hold an MA in European and Russian Affairs from the Centre for European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy (2022). My doctoral research focuses on the development of obedience and cohesion within state security services, state-perpetrated repression, and violence.