About me
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).