We are a team of investigators from the UK, Russia and Kazakhstan with combined decades of experience of doing policy research, attitudinal studies, cultural anthropology and prison sociology across the former Soviet Union.
UK-Based Team
Laura Piacentini is the Principal Investigator on the project. Dr Piacentini is Professor of Criminology at the University of Strathclyde’s School of Social Work and Social Policy in Glasgow, Scotland.
Email: laura.piacentini@strath.ac.uk
Daniel Horn is Research Associate for the project. Dr Horn is based at the University of Strathclyde’s School of Social Work and Social Policy in Glasgow, Scotland.
Email: dan.horn@strath.ac.uk
Stephanie Reid our Research Administrator and an indispensable part of our team. Stephanie brings a wealth of expertise on contracts and procurement from the public sector. Her indispensable skills extend to liaising with our research partners in Russia and Kazakhstan, their research offices, our generous funder (ESRC), and internal legal and contracts teams at Strathclyde University.
Email: stephanie.reid@strath.ac.uk
Kazakhstan-Based Team
Gavin Slade is a Co-Investigator and International Lead on the project. Dr Slade is Associate Professor of Sociology at Nazarbayev University’s School of Science and Humanities in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Email: gavin.slade@nu.edu.kz
Alexei Trochev is a Co-Investigator on the project. Dr Trochev is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Nazarbayev University’s School of Science and Humanities in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Email: atrochev@nu.edu.kz
Zhaniya Turlubekova is an expert on Kazakhstan’s criminal justice system, a PhD candidate in Global Criminology at the University of Utrecht and a graduate of Nazarbayev University.
Email: zhaniya.turlubekova@nu.edu.kz
Russia-Based Team
Elena Omelchenko is a Co-Investigator on the project. Elena is a Professor of Sociology at the Higher School of Economics Department of Sociology in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Alena Kravtsova holds a masters in sociology and is a junior research fellow in the Centre for Youth Studies at the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg. Interests: qualitative methodology, youth, citizenship activism, generation, memory.
Email: akravtcova@hse.ru
Irina Lisovskaya holds a PhD in sociology. She is a junior research fellow in the Centre for Youth Studies at the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg. Interests: Prison Studies, Youth Studies
Email: ilisovskaya@hse.ru
Iskender Yasaveev is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Youth Studies at the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg. Interests: social problems theory, social constructionism, punitiveness as a social problem, HIV/AIDS as a social problem, deviance and media.
E-mail: yasaveyev@gmail.com
Yulia Epanova PhD in cultural studies, Manager of the Center for Youth Studies, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology National Research University, Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg. Interests: youth studies, cultural studies, digital studies.
E-mail: yepanova@hse.ru
Dmitrii Omelchenko is a documentary filmmaker from St. Petersburg, Russia. Interests: Visual studies, Visual sociology, Visual Anthropology, Documentary filmmaking
Contacts: +79681894656, omel4enko.dmitry@gmail.com
International Advisory Group
Our International Advisory Group (IAG) is comprised of world leading penal policy and criminology expertise. The role of the IAG is to contribute ideas to the project and offer advice on the best ways to ensure that the project meets its objectives and improves research-led policy and stakeholder engagement.
Catherine Heard, Director, Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck College, School of Law, University of London, UK.
Eamonn Carrabine, Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Essex, UK.
Aaron Erlich, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Andrew Coyle, Professor of Prison Studies, Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck College, School of Law, University of London, UK.
We would like to thank all our advisors for their support.
