RSI Connect: Information, War, and Ukraine

Polina Beliakova
Ph.D. Candidate, Fletcher School, Tufts University

Polina Beliakova is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and an incoming postdoctoral scholar at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College. Her research focuses on civil-military relations, intrastate conflict, and international security with a regional interest in Russia, Ukraine, and Israel.
Being proficient in Russian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, and English, Ms. Beliakova collects data through fieldwork, archival research, and the analysis of governmental sources. Her work was published by Comparative Political Studies, Texas National Security Review, Perspectives on Terrorism, War on the Rocks, and the World Peace Foundation.

She was selected as a 2019 - 2020 US Institute of Peace - Minerva Peace Scholar Fellow and World Politics and Statecraft Fellow at Smith Richardson Foundation. Before coming to Fletcher she studied Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, and Counterterrorism at IDC Herzliya (Israel). 

Karen-Anna Eggen
PhD Fellow, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies and University of Oslo

Karen-Anna Eggen is a PhD Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies and University of Oslo. In her dissertation, Eggen examines the role of Russian information confrontation concept (IPb) within the broader context of Russia’s security policy. She also looks at the use of modern technology in Moscow's strive to influence decision making and public opinion, particularly the security debates in the Nordic region. She has previously published an article on Russian security strategy towards the Nordic region in Journal of Strategic Studies. Eggen’s research interests also include Russia’s foreign and security policy towards Europe and the U.S. more broadly. She is a commentator and analyst on Russian military and informational approaches towards NATO, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Katrina Keegan
MA Student, Harvard University Davis Center

Katrina Keegan is a MA student at the Harvard University Davis Center studying Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. She is currently a part-time analyst for Miburo Solutions, a company that investigates Russian disinformation actors and narratives for government and big tech clients. Her recent research projects include Russian vaccine propaganda in Ukraine and Serbia, Central Asian digital development, and social media networks during the 2020 Belarusian protests. She has spent over two years studying and working in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. She is fluent in Russian and speaks Ukrainian, Serbo-Croatian, Uzbek, and Turkish. She earned her BA summa cum laude in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Chicago.

Andrew S. Bowen
Analyst in Russian and European Affairs
Congressional Research Service

Andrew S. Bowen is an Analyst in Russian and European Affairs at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) where he covers military, intelligence, security, and cyber issues in Russia and Eurasia. CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing the highest quality nonpartisan research, analysis, information to committees and Members of both the House and Senate. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston College and a M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University.