About me

I am Professor of Socio-Cultural Remembering at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu. I am a specialist in 20th Century Eastern European, particularly Soviet cultural history, cultural diplomacy of the Cold War era, and memory studies. I have published extensively on cultural, international and transnational East-West connections, particularly from the Soviet perspective. My current research involves cultural resistance against the Soviet central authorities especially in the Baltic republics during the late Soviet period. I am also working on memory conflicts, the use of the past for political and other purposes, and the societal and political conflicts this can cause.  

I seek opportunities to participate in international research projects dealing with these themes. I am also happy to lecture and teach these subjects, but also more broadly Soviet and Cold War history as well as related subjects.