The second annual Y-Conference took place in Yerevan from May 22 to 24. This year's conference, which focused on SPACES, was a resounding success and almost tripled in size. In 2025, we hosted 11 panel sessions with 47 speakers; in 2026, we welcomed 32 sessions and 154 speakers, including twice as many Armenia-based researchers as in 2025, both from local institutions and among independent scholars.
The highlights of the conference were the keynote talks given by Catriona Kelly (University of Cambridge) and Mathijs Pelkmans (London School of Economics and Political Science). We are grateful to both for the depth and energy they brought to the event.
🟠 Stay tuned for updates! The announcement for the third annual Y-Conference is almost here.
More photos here.
The highlights of the conference were the keynote talks given by Catriona Kelly (University of Cambridge) and Mathijs Pelkmans (London School of Economics and Political Science). We are grateful to both for the depth and energy they brought to the event.
🟠 Stay tuned for updates! The announcement for the third annual Y-Conference is almost here.
More photos here.
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YCIE invites you to the third annual Y-Conference. 📣
The Y-Conference brings together scholars who work in or focus on the Caucasus and Eurasia to present their latest research and discuss their ongoing projects.
The theme of the third Y-Conference is EMPIRES. In times of intensifying debates on the rise of neo-imperialism(s) and the return to empire, we want to bring together cutting-edge scholarship from the Humanities and Social Sciences for an interdisciplinary and timely exploration into empires and their current afterlives.
We welcome scholars from across the social sciences, humanities, and related interdisciplinary fields to submit panel session proposals.
Applicants must select one of the two panel formats (closed or open panels) described in the call and submit only one proposal.
Deadline: September 6, 2026
Notification of acceptance: October 6, 2026
🔸 Learn more about the conference and application process.
The Y-Conference brings together scholars who work in or focus on the Caucasus and Eurasia to present their latest research and discuss their ongoing projects.
The theme of the third Y-Conference is EMPIRES. In times of intensifying debates on the rise of neo-imperialism(s) and the return to empire, we want to bring together cutting-edge scholarship from the Humanities and Social Sciences for an interdisciplinary and timely exploration into empires and their current afterlives.
We welcome scholars from across the social sciences, humanities, and related interdisciplinary fields to submit panel session proposals.
Applicants must select one of the two panel formats (closed or open panels) described in the call and submit only one proposal.
Deadline: September 6, 2026
Notification of acceptance: October 6, 2026
🔸 Learn more about the conference and application process.
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We are pleased to welcome Lois Kalb as our last Research Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year at YCIE! ⭐️
Lois Kalb is a PhD candidate at the European University Institute in Florence and a research affiliate of the partnership project “Deindustrialization and the Politics of our Time” at Concordia University in Montréal. Her work sits at the intersection of urban history and social anthropology and focuses on urban transformations, lived experiences, and urban commons in Soviet-era neighborhoods.
Her dissertation examines how residents of Riga’s Soviet-era housing came to inhabit and make sense of their neighborhoods during the Soviet period and the decades that followed.
As a fellow at YCIE, Lois’ central focus will be on the city Gyumri, where she will conduct archival and field research into Soviet housing provision and reconstruction following the earthquake of 1988.
Lois Kalb is a PhD candidate at the European University Institute in Florence and a research affiliate of the partnership project “Deindustrialization and the Politics of our Time” at Concordia University in Montréal. Her work sits at the intersection of urban history and social anthropology and focuses on urban transformations, lived experiences, and urban commons in Soviet-era neighborhoods.
Her dissertation examines how residents of Riga’s Soviet-era housing came to inhabit and make sense of their neighborhoods during the Soviet period and the decades that followed.
As a fellow at YCIE, Lois’ central focus will be on the city Gyumri, where she will conduct archival and field research into Soviet housing provision and reconstruction following the earthquake of 1988.
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In this episode of our "Now in Russian" podcast we spoke with historian and anthropologist Evgeny Manzhurin. Evgeny works at the Department of Architecture at Aalto University in Finland.
His research focuses on spatial social practices, the communication that sustains them, and the imaginaries that institute them. His academic interests include social, spatial, and environmental history, as well as the study of verbal and visual communication. His current projects explore the role of urban and natural environments in the production of late Soviet identities.
Listen to the #podcast 🎙
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
His research focuses on spatial social practices, the communication that sustains them, and the imaginaries that institute them. His academic interests include social, spatial, and environmental history, as well as the study of verbal and visual communication. His current projects explore the role of urban and natural environments in the production of late Soviet identities.
Listen to the #podcast 🎙
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
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📢 10 days left to respond to the Call for Papers for the upcoming international conference, "Unionize the Science: Agency and Infrastructures of Knowledge in Eurasia, 20th–21st Centuries."
YCIE invites proposals for an international conference in Yerevan on the agency and infrastructures of knowledge in the 20th and 21st centuries. We especially welcome papers on scientific cities, research institutes, universities, big science, nuclear and space programmes, cybernetics, computer networks, knowledge transfers, scientific heritage, and cultural representations of science.
Deadline: August 2, 2026
Working language: English
Format: In person
No registration fee
📌 Learn more and apply!
Contact: timofey.rakov@gmail.com
YCIE invites proposals for an international conference in Yerevan on the agency and infrastructures of knowledge in the 20th and 21st centuries. We especially welcome papers on scientific cities, research institutes, universities, big science, nuclear and space programmes, cybernetics, computer networks, knowledge transfers, scientific heritage, and cultural representations of science.
Deadline: August 2, 2026
Working language: English
Format: In person
No registration fee
📌 Learn more and apply!
Contact: timofey.rakov@gmail.com
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In this episode of our "Now in Russian" podcast we spoke with Valérie Pozner, a specialist in Russian and Soviet Film history.
She is Research director at Thalim – (Theory and History of Modern Art and Literature), CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), in Paris. Pozner has successively focused on the 1920s and 1930s, then the pre-revolutionary years, the World War II period, and the postwar era, with her interests ranging from social and economic issues to technical and political ones, as well as film genres and the circulation of film theories.
Listen to the #podcast 🎙
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
She is Research director at Thalim – (Theory and History of Modern Art and Literature), CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), in Paris. Pozner has successively focused on the 1920s and 1930s, then the pre-revolutionary years, the World War II period, and the postwar era, with her interests ranging from social and economic issues to technical and political ones, as well as film genres and the circulation of film theories.
Listen to the #podcast 🎙
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
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From June 29 to July 8, 2026, YCIE hosted its third annual summer school across Yerevan and Gyumri. Titled “Constructing Soviet Difference: Culture and Society,” this year’s interdisciplinary program was our most competitive yet, selecting 20 exceptional students from over 120 global applications.
Led by Academic Director Emma Widdis (University of Cambridge), the intensive curriculum brought together students and 13 distinguished professors from leading universities worldwide. Participants engaged in a rigorous lineup of lectures, seminars, workshops, and field visits, building on a foundational reading list to drive deep, collaborative discussions.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Professor Widdis for her outstanding academic leadership, to the professors and to all the participants for creating such a safe, inspiring space for the open exchange of knowledge, expertise, and perspectives.
Applications for our fourth summer school will open in late November / early December 2026.
More photos here.
Led by Academic Director Emma Widdis (University of Cambridge), the intensive curriculum brought together students and 13 distinguished professors from leading universities worldwide. Participants engaged in a rigorous lineup of lectures, seminars, workshops, and field visits, building on a foundational reading list to drive deep, collaborative discussions.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Professor Widdis for her outstanding academic leadership, to the professors and to all the participants for creating such a safe, inspiring space for the open exchange of knowledge, expertise, and perspectives.
Applications for our fourth summer school will open in late November / early December 2026.
More photos here.
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YouTube
Catriona Kelly | Y-Conference: SPACES | Socialist, National, Local: Late Soviet Spaces
YCIE's second annual Y-Conference: SPACES brought together scholars 154 speakers from 33 countries, who work in or focus on the Caucasus and Eurasia to present their latest research and discuss their ongoing projects. 🔸 Call for the third annual conference…
Drawing on her expertise in urban culture and the politics of memory, Catriona Kelly's talk for YCIE's second annual Y-Conference: SPACES explored:
• What defined "socialist" or "Soviet" spaces and whether recognizable settlement patterns existed across the territory.
• The practical success of the Khrushchev and Brezhnev-era push for spatial homogeneity (including the 1955 Decree on Architectural Excesses and the 1961 secret law on statuary).
• The role of space in the Soviet imaginary versus its ideological significance.
Watch the full presentation: https://youtu.be/dwTHQvFnmtQ
🔸 Call for the third annual conference is now open!
• What defined "socialist" or "Soviet" spaces and whether recognizable settlement patterns existed across the territory.
• The practical success of the Khrushchev and Brezhnev-era push for spatial homogeneity (including the 1955 Decree on Architectural Excesses and the 1961 secret law on statuary).
• The role of space in the Soviet imaginary versus its ideological significance.
Watch the full presentation: https://youtu.be/dwTHQvFnmtQ
🔸 Call for the third annual conference is now open!
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