last updated: October 2023

I am a computational political scientist and data scientist. I currently hold the position of Research Officer at the European Institute (LSE), where I am involved in the ERC-funded project JUSTINT. Additionally, I am in my final year as a PhD candidate at the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). 

In my research, I employ Text-as-Data and other Data Science-based approaches within the social sciences. My current academic focus primarily encompasses Comparative Political Science, International Relations, and Media Studies, although I also maintain a keen interest in Economics and Finance due to my background.

My PhD dissertation seeks to answer the question, 'What do news media in Putin’s Russia reveal about the regime’s survival strategy?' At the European Institute (JUSTINT), my work revolves around data science-based approaches to Transitional Justice in the Balkans. More specifically, my responsibilities include not only broader research design, but also practical aspects of using Text as Data methods, web scraping, and statistical analysis. 

Previously, I freelanced as a Research Assistant, typically working on Data Science or Text-as-Data projects. In 2021/2022, I worked as a part-time RA for Katerina Tertychnaya (Oxford | UCL) and Tomila Lankina (LSE). Prior to that, I held similar roles for various projects at Warwick, SOAS, Waseda, LSE, and Princeton.  I have also contributed to the development of Marimo in R and Quanteda software tutorials. In addition, I spent the spring of 2019 as a visiting researcher at Waseda University in Japan. My work at Waseda revolved around improving an LSA-based package.

In 2022-2024, I am also assisting Dominique Lieven (Cambridge | LSE) with one of the Frederik Paulsen Programmes, a charity which offers support to young historians of Imperial Russia who may not have the financial means to travel abroad. 

I hold an MSc in Political Science and Political Economy from the LSE and an MSc in Economics from Warwick University. During my BSc studies, I spent a year as an exchange student at Central University in Beijing. My BSc degree is in Mathematical Economics.

Prior to returning to academia for my MSc, I accumulated over 4 years of experience working with people and data at one of the Big Four international financial consultancies. My work primarily revolved around individuals and businesses in Russia and Ukraine.

I speak fluent English, Russian, and not-that-fluent Mandarin (HSK 4). I also understand/read in Ukrainian and Tatar as these are my native languages. 

If you are interested in hiring me in the UK, you would not need to sponsor a work permit, as I have been recognised as a Global Talent by the British Academy.

Important information about my background (in a more formal way):

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP

2024 (planned)

Workshop: Analyzing Big Data

Part of postgraduate module on the methods in International Relations Research, LSE

2020–2021

International Relations: Theories, Concepts, and Debates

Undergraduate module, LSE

Computer Programming

Postgraduate module, LSE

International Relations Dissertation Surgeries

Part of postgraduate module, LSE

 2019–2020

International Relations: Theories, Concepts, and Debates

Undergraduate module, LSE

Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Media and Communications

Undergraduate module, LSE

Quantitative methodology surgeries

Part of postgraduate module, LSE

International Relations Dissertation Surgeries

Part of postgraduate module, LSE

Quantitative Text Analysis.

Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, University of Essex

SELECTED METHODOLOGY TRAINING

MY470 Computer Programming (Python and R), LSE

MY459 Quantitative Text Analysis, LSE

MY457 Causal Inference for Observational and Experimental Studies, LSE

MY452 Applied Regression Analysis, LSE

IR509 Research Design, LSE

Quantitative Text Analysis, Essex Summer School, UK

Advanced Machine Learning for Social Scientists, Essex Summer School

Quantitative Text Analysis for Political Science, Waseda University, Japan

Programming:

TensorFlow: Qwik Start | Qwiklabs

Coursera: NLP Specialisation (NLTK, Vector spaces)

Udemy: Hands On Natural Language Processing (NLP) using Python

Udemy: Python Beyond the Basics - Object-Oriented Programming

Coursera: Applied Data Science with Python (University of Michigan) (APIs, web scraping, SQLite, basic NLP and ML)

AWARDS AND GRANTS

2022. The British Academy, UK Global Talent Endorsement and visa sponsorship

2021. SICSS, 800 GBP

2019. The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, 1000 GBP

2019. Waseda University, Japan, 1500 GBP

2018. LSE, full PhD Studentship and Scholarship for 2018–2022

2011. Central University of Finance and Economics, China. Full Studentship and Scholarship for a 9-month exchange program 

INVITED TALKS, WORKSHOPS, and SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS

2023. Harriman Institute, Columbia University, NY, USA

Authoritarian Propaganda and Media Control: New Conceptual Approaches and Empirical Evidence

Vladimir Putin on Channel One, 1998–2022

2023. King’s College London, London, UK

Social Science Research in the Context of Conflict, War, and Authoritarianism: Methodological Challenges and New Approaches to Data Collection and Analysis

Using Text as Data Methods to Study Mass Media in Russia

2023. Media and Communications Department, LSE, London, UK

LSE’s Media and Communications Research Dialogue

What do News Media in Putin’s Russia Reveal about the Regime’s Survival Strategy?

2023. University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Communications and Digital Media Department

What do News Media in Putin’s Russia Reveal about the Regime’s Survival Strategy?

2022. LSE, London, UK

European Institute Seminar

Are Domestic War Crimes Trials Biased? Evidence from Serbia

2021. University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Connected Politics Lab Seminar Series

What do News Media in Putin’s Russia Reveal about the Regime’s Survival Strategy?

2021. Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Women in Power and Decision-making

2021. Data Science Institute, LSE, London, UK

Data Science Institute Research Showcase

What do News Media in Putin’s Russia Reveal about the Regime’s Survival Strategy?

2020. Virtual Workshop on Authoritarian Regimes

Warfare Agenda-setting on Russian Television, 2009–2019

2019. ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Zurich Text as Data Workshop 

Warfare Agenda-setting on Russian Television, 2009–2019

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

2023. APSA

Ingroup and Intergroup Effects of Djokovic's Exclusion from 2022 Australia Open

2023. BISA and Council for European Studies

Are Domestic War Crimes Trials Biased? Evidence from Serbia

2023. EPSA

It Depends on Who Is Asking and Who Is Being Asked: Gendering Speaking Behavior in Parliamentary Interactions

2023. Pre-EPSA Authoritarian Politics Conference

Vladimir Putin on Channel One, 1998–2022

2023. ISA, BISA, ASN, and COMPTEXT

Grandstanding Instead of Deliberative Policy-making: Parliamentary Questions, Publicness, and Transitional Justice in the Croatian Parliament

2022. LSE European Institute Conference

State-controlled Media Manipulations in Putin’s Russia

2022. COMPTEXT

Dictator’s Dilemma in News Management: How a Russian State-Controlled News Aggregator Censored Fewer Stories about Anti-Government Opposition and Protests, but Promoted Stronger Bias in the Coverage of Ukraine

It Depends on Who Is Asking and Who Is Being Asked: Gendering Speaking Behavior in Parliamentary Interactions

2022. ECPR, NIOD, and Conflict Research Society Annual Conference

Are Domestic War Crimes Trials Biased?

2021. APSA, ISA, and EPSA

War News on Russian Television

2021. ASN and NESEEES

State-controlled Agenda-setting on Russian Domestic Television and Online, 2018–2020

2020. IC2S2 at MIT

Giddy Minds and Foreign Quarrels. The Strategic Coverage of International Conflicts by Russian Media, 2008–2019

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND SERVICE

Reviewer: Nationalities Papers, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Journal of Refugee Studies.

Service: Assistance to Dominic Lieven (LSE and Cambridge) in organizing an international conference on the History of Imperial Russia at Kazakh National University (2022–2024).