Education

2022	Master of Arts in North American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
2016	Bachelor of Arts in History, National Research University Higher School of Economics

 

Grants

• Doctoral scholarship, Graduate School of North American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin

 

Ph.D. Project

Between Boston and Leningrad: Avant-garde communities and the changing face of the Cold War, 1980-1989

This research aims to fill the gap in research on the music diplomacy efforts between the US and USSR during the Reagan-Gorbachev era. While the role of popular music and entertainment industry in the end of the Cold War has been explored, the use of elite-oriented music has received limited scholarly attention. This study examines the shift in musical diplomacy in the mid-1980s when both nations turned to avant- garde music as a tool in their nation branding efforts. Through an analysis of the Third International Music Festival in Leningrad and the American-Soviet Cultural Exchange Festival in Boston, both held in 1988, the research seeks to understand how the perception and appreciation of avant-garde music shaped the narratives of Cold War policies in musical diplomacy between the US and USSR. The study seeks to provide insights into the complex counterpoint relationship of the agents involved and ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the role of music in shaping the relationship between the US and USSR during the last decade of the existence of the Soviet Union.