Bio
I grew up in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, as part of the Russian-Ukrainian
minority in the majority Muslim population. That diverse borderlands experience shaped
my interest in languages and religions. Thus when I was admitted into Moscow State
Lomonosov University in 1996, I chose to study Byzantine literature and Greek language
as my major to better understand the culture of the Balkans and the Near East where
the earliest Christian-Muslim interactions developed. Driven by my passion for study
abroad, in 2001, I passed English and German proficiency tests eventually selecting
to pursue a Ph.D. degree in the US. In 2008, after 6 years of coursework and overseas
archival research I defended my dissertation at the University of Minnesota titled
"Containing Balkan Nationalism: Imperial Russia and Ottoman Christians (1856-1912)."
Education:
- PhD, History of Modern Europe and Middle East, University of Minnesota, Magna cum
laude, 2008
I am fascinated by the interplay of ethnic and religious components in cultural identities
as well as their role in motivating political action.
I teach a variety of European and world history courses including "History of the
Islamic World", Early and Modern Western Civilization.
Intellectual Content:
- Review of Victor Taki, Tsar and Sultan: Russian Encounters with the Ottoman Empire
(London: I.B. Tauris, 2016) (Book Review), Discovery, Accepted,
- Through Distant & Distorted Mirrors: the Ideological Currents among the Russian migrs
in Interwar Yugoslavia in the Writings of Ivan Dorba (in Russian) (Conference Proceeding), Discovery, Published, December, 2019
- Review of Lucien Frary, Russia and the Making of Modern Greek Identity, 1821-1844
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015) (Book Review), Discovery, Published, October (4th Quarter/Autumn), 2018
- Review of Eyal Ginio, The Ottoman Culture of Defeat: the Balkan Wars and their Aftermath
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2016) (Book Review), Discovery, Published, October (4th Quarter/Autumn), 2018
Courses Taught:
- EARLY WORLD CIVILIZ TO 1500 - HIST 2713 - Fall 2020
- MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION - HIST 1213 - Fall 2020
- MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION - HIST 1213 - Fall 2020
- HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD - HIST 4313 - Fall 2020
- MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION - HIST 1213 - Summer 2020
