About

My mother is from Moscow. My father lived in Russia during the 90s, where they met. I grew up in Holland, Michigan speaking English, but Russian was always there, on phone calls, in the kitchen, in the stories I half-understood.

I studied Russian formally to connect with those roots, then grew enamored with the broader post-Soviet пространство. At Pitt, I majored in History, Linguistics, and International Studies, writing my thesis on Bashkir nationalists negotiating with Bolsheviks in 1917-1920. After graduating, I served in AmeriCorps teaching ESL to Ukrainian refugees and Central Asian immigrants in Homestead, Pennsylvania. 57 students, a year of lesson planning, and a grounding in how policy meets people.

I recently completed my MA at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. Time in Kazakhstan last summer was formative: Almaty, the legacy of Soviet planners, Chinese EVs on every corner, the texture of daily life in a place where Russia, China, and Central Asia meet. I build GIS tools for historical research and work on trade, energy, and national identity in Eurasia.