Elen Aghekyan
Field(s) of Interest: Political science, history, civil society
Biography: Based in New York City, Elen is a graduate of Cornell University, where she earned her BA in History and Government. A child of Yerevan’s “dark years,” she remains dedicated to her first home. Her studies focus on the Soviet politics of nation and culture and its continuation in post-Soviet democratization, especially in Russia and the South Caucasus. One of her main projects is DreamLink, a non-profit that strengthens educational opportunities for children in Gyumri.

Akop Gabrielyan
Field(s) of Interest: Political philosophy, macroeconomics, foreign affairs
Biography: Born in Yerevan, Akop is a PhD candidate of International Relations at the Russian-Armenian Slavonic University.  He earned his MA degree in political science from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. He is interested in international relations and economics, especially regarding Russia, the Caucasus, and the former USSR.

Lilit Grigoryan
Field(s) of Interest: Translation, languages, literature, culture
Biography: Lilit is a graduate of the MA program in Russian Translation at Kent State University.  A native of Sisian, Armenia, she also earned her BA degree in Russian Philology from Yerevan State University. She is interested in Slavic Studies and Russian and Armenian translation, language, and literature.  She has worked as a translator for the Gomidas Institute in London and she has translated many works by Soviet writer Sergey Dovlatov from Russian into Armenian.

Sergey Sargsyan
Field(s) of Interest: Culture, political satire, film, civil society
Biography: Sergey is a comedian, actor, satirist, and writer and co-host of the ArmComedy television series (essentially the Armenian version of The Daily Show) with Narek Margaryan. An advocate for civil society in Armenia, the Caucasus, and the former USSR, he was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and earned his PhD in English.

Pietro Shakarian
Field(s) of Interest: History, culture, film, art
Biography: Pietro is a historian of Russia and the former USSR, with a specific focus on the Khrushchev era and the Caucasus.  He earned his PhD in Russian History at The Ohio State University in 2021 and his MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2015.  He serves as an Associate Editor for the Gomidas Institute in London.  He has contributed analyses on Russia and the former Soviet Union for The Nation, The Plain Dealer, the Russian International Affairs Council, and Hetq Online.  He also maintains the Reconsidering Russia podcast.