About me
I am a qualitative researcher working at UCL. My PhD thesis, titled Queer Russian Parents: Building Support Networks, Navigating Risks, Doing Family, and Crossing Borders, is the first to examine how LGBTQ+ parents who begin their parenting journeys in contemporary Russia have and raise children in a queerphobic and hostile context. My research interests are situated within the fields of kinship, queer and alternative families, assisted reproduction, dissent under authoritarianism, and migration.
I worked as a curator on a number of projects, including working as a film curator at Kino Klassika, and an archivist and assistant curator at Pushkin House.
I completed an MSc in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, where I researched commercial surrogacy in Russia. Prior to this, I completed a BA at the Higher School of Economics in Russia.
LGBTQ+ Studies at Risk
In 2023, Talia Kollek and I co-organised the conference LGBTQ+ Studies at Risk — which aimed to connect queer researchers from different disciplines across the humanities and social sciences to share expertise and encourage much-needed interregional dialogue. We brought together 30 scholars researching Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Hong Kong, China, and Brazil, among others.
For two days, we reflected on our research, methodologies, and ethics. We wanted to connect and share similar issues or similar experiences we are having. The three workshops became a space to connect, learn and relate to each other and the common problems we share. The panels were on the study of LGBTQ+ communities in exile and diaspora, and youth, education, and parenting. The roundtable addressed the study of LGBTQ+ minorities and the decolonization of queer studies. The panels and roundtable gave space to early career researchers to share about their research, receive feedback from peers, and build connections across regions and disciplines. Professor Suen Yiu Tung, who founded the Sexualities Research Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, presented the keynote.
The conference was made possible by funding from London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP), UCL Institutude of Advanced Studies (IAS) and BASEES.
Curatorial experience
I worked as a curator on a number of projects. In 2024-2025, I worked at Pushkin House in London. Pushkin House is an independent art, cultural and social space that explores, challenges and debates Russian culture and identity today. There, I have curated discourse programme events, workshops, and exhibitions. I also work on an archive exploration project where I examine the 70 years of Pushkin House history and address the themes of diaspora, memory and nostalgia, silenced and forgotten histories, omissions and gaps.
As part of my work, I assisted in curating Arsen Zhilyaev’s _n Haus (2025), Aziza Kadyri’s Spinning Tales (2024-2025), and Extension to Perestroika (2024) for Open House Festival.
