Alena is a second-year MARS-REERS student at Harriman. Prior to joining Columbia, she finished her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and Political Science at the Free University of Berlin. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature and Political Science from the Free University of Berlin. Her academic interests focus on contemporary Russian politics, post-Soviet national identity formation, and East European diaspora. Her thesis explores about identity negotiation and political consciousness in the new Russian diaspora that formed since the full-scale invasion. Alena is also a freelance journalist and serves as a Teaching Assistant for Professor Kimberly Marten.