Research

Research projects, centres and networks in Russian Studies.

Research Excellence

In the latest Research Excellence Framework, our research in Russian Studies was submitted in:

  • Modern Languages and Linguistics (Panel D - Arts and Humanities; Unit of Assessment 26)

The results reaffirm Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities - third in the UK.

As published in Times Higher Education's REF power ratings, this result is based on the quality and breadth of our research in Modern Languages and Linguistics. 

REF is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in its higher education institutions. The next REF is planned for 2029.

Read more about our School's performance in REF

Selected research centres and networks

Research centres and networks range from formal collaborations to informal groups of researchers working together on a theme or challenge.

A number are based in or are affiliated with Russian Studies; others are based elsewhere in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC), the University of Edinburgh, or the wider academic community, but involve our staff and students.

The groups provide opportunities for researchers at all career stages to work together with partners and stakeholders in organising events, workshopping publications, engaging audiences outside the academy, and exploring ideas for future projects and funding bids.

This research strand was active between 2015 and 2023 as part of a joint project with the Johann Gutenberg Universität Mainz. Based around a series of events, and led by colleagues in German and Russian Studies, it explored the ways in which cultural encounters and cultural dialogues take place.


Based in European Languages and Cultures in LLC, this research strand explores the interplay between violence and language in various historical and cultural contexts and from different disciplinary perspectives (including literary and linguistic studies, translation, and memory studies).


Founded in 2010, and funded for a period of 12 years, the Centre’s mission was to advance knowledge in the field of Russian language studies and to foster a broader understanding of Russia through research, academic training and knowledge exchange.


Selected research projects

Scotland and Russia have a long tradition of mutual engagement and influence, going back to the Middle Ages and still thriving today. Drawing on the expertise of scholars, creative practitioners and the general public, Scotland and Russia: Cultural Encounters Since 1900 explores the full spectrum of these connections: from passive consumption of each other’s culture to ethnographic reflection upon it; from creative transformation of each other’s cultural products to professional collaboration in the creation of joint cultural capital.

In addition to three collaboratively-hosted academic conferences covering music, theatre, literature, art, politics and history, the project has organised concerts, a performance workshop, and talks by visiting speakers. Its website hosts an extensive cultural archive of textual, audio and visual materials - some newly translated and all brought together for the first time.


Funded by the University of Edinburgh Challenge Investment Fund: 2014 to 2015, by the Universities of Aberdeen and Dundee, and by the Royal Society of Edinburgh Arts and Humanities Research Network Award: January 2015 to December 2016

LLC team: Professor Anna Vaninskaya (Principal Investigator), Dr Rania Karoula (Research Assistant)

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world saw transnational mobility of Russian speakers on an unprecedented scale. The UK has experienced a dramatic growth of Russian-speaking migrants and a rapid development of Russophone communities and border-spanning cultural activities – from art galleries, costume balls and festivals to hundreds of schools, clubs, restaurants and internet sites.

Combining a discursive studies approach with globalisation theories, the Global Russians project develops a new paradigm to explore the construction, articulation and commodification of ‘global Russian’ identity and its community-building potential. By examining the apparently high level of Russian cultural engagement in the UK, the project's findings aim to deepen our understanding of ‘community’ itself.

Global Russians is part of the multi-university Cross-Language Dynamics: Reshaping Community Consortium.


Funded as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Open World Research Initiative (OWRI): October 2016 to July 2021

LLC team: Professor Lara Ryazanova-Clarke (Principal Investigator), Dr Yulia Lukyanova (Research Assistant, 2017 to 2019), Angelos Theocharis (PhD candidate, 2017 to 2021)

Postgraduate research

Doctorate-level study is an opportunity to make an original, positive contribution to research in Russian Studies.

Join our interdisciplinary community in European Languages and Cultures (DELC) and undertake your PhD under the guidance of our experienced and well-published supervisors. We also offer a one year Masters by Research degree, which is a good stepping stone between undergraduate and doctoral study in Russian Studies.

The first lecture in Russian was given at the University in 1919, and Russian Studies was introduced as a degree programme in 1949, the first of its kind in Scotland. Today, we have an established community of staff, research students, and undergraduates.

Explore our supervisors and their specialisms on the DELC webpages, where staff in Russian are listed alongside colleagues in other European languages and cultures.

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