Before coming to Slovakia in early May, I mainly associated Bratislava with the 2004 movie “Eurotrip.” Thankfully for me, my experience has had little resemblance to the film. Interning at GLOBSEC, one of the largest and most influential think tanks in Central Europe, has been a deeply enriching experience. My research at CERES focuses on understanding how the Kremlin targets and engages with the Russian-speaking diaspora in North America. Being in Slovakia, a country on the frontlines of the information war with Russia, has helped inform my research and perspective.

As part of GLOBSEC’s Centre for Democracy and Resilience, I have been involved in a number of exciting projects, including helping monitor various pro-Russian and problematic online outlets to help create an updated “Disinformation Database” at EUvsDisinfo. In addition, I have expanded my understanding of strategic communications and how when done effectively, it can serve as a first defence against the spread of disinformation and conspiracy theories. I also had the incredible opportunity to attend the 2022 GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, where I got to meet and hear from leading scholars, thinkers, heads of state, and diplomats from all over Europe and North America––and I even took a selfie with Belarusian oppositionist, Sviatlana Tsikhanouvskaya!

In addition to the internship,  I have been selected to be a fellow for the 2022 Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, this is a comprehensive, content-based program for students and emerging specialists in Russian and Eurasian studies, offering participants the unique opportunity to engage directly with leading experts from the United States, Russia, and throughout the post-Soviet region.

By Ruty Korotaev,

Second-year CERES MA student