Barnard College News recently published a profile of Kimberly Marten (Professor of Political Science) as the “Go-To Voice on Russia” (Oct. 10, 2023). While the profile details the beginnings of Marten’s interest in Russia as a fifth-grader in Minnesota and her arrival at Barnard 26 years ago, the emphasis is on her media presence currently as leading expert on the Wagner Group and the war in Ukraine.

Lately, Marten is an increasingly familiar presence in the news media and on Capitol Hill because of her deep knowledge of Russia’s Wagner Group, a “private” military company, and its recently deceased founder and leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Her insightful observations on the war in Ukraine, Prigozhin’s rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash two months later have landed her in newspapers, on television, radio, podcasts, and before the U.S. Congress.

 

“[Speaking to Congress] was just an incredible honor,” said Marten, who recalled researching congressional transcripts as a high school student on the debate team. “I never imagined I would actually ever be giving congressional testimony.”