Marija Norkunaite

I am a doctoral candidate in Area Studies, focusing on Russia and East Europe, at Wolfson College. My project examines perceptions of the state held by the people living in the former (mono-)industrial regions of the Baltic countries. My broader interests include manifestations of the Soviet nostalgia and legacies; the specifics of planned socialist towns and their survival strategies after the collapse of the USSR; and the relations between ethnic minorities and the new states in the post-Soviet countries.

Prior to starting my doctoral studies, I was awarded an MPhil in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford (2016-2018). I have received my BA in Political Science from Vilnius University, Lithuania (2012-2016). I am a UK ESRC ‘Grand Union’ Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), scholar.

Supervisors: Dr Nicolette Makovicky (REES) and Professor Dace Dzenovska (COMPAS)