Student success is at the core of the CERES mission, and the Eurasia Initiative continues and contributes to that goal. International field experience, a variety of internal events, and a core network of peers and faculty are the key resources that our students engage with in order to explore their regional interests and push the boundaries of their individual perspectives and comfort zones.

This page shares the stories of some of our current students and recent alumni and alumnae. They discuss the ways in which the study of Eurasia fits into their academic journey, the origins of their interest in these subjects, and their individual experiences as CERES students.

Ahmed Daniyal

I am Ahmed Daniyal, MA candidate at University of Toronto’s CERES for European and Russian Affairs. I got my BA in Political Science and Philosophy at York University, and have been interested in international affairs and regional politics since my first year there. I have worked in political campaigns in Canada and abroad,  and also did a summer internship as a project manager for an NGO in rural Peru. But my interest shifted from Latin America to Eastern Europe and Russia in my 3rd year as I started to travel through the area and became interested more and more in the languages and cultures of Eurasia. Prof. Sergei Plekhanov at York encouraged me to apply for European and Russian Affairs at CERES so I can continue to focus on Eurasia.

At CERES I did an internship in an NGO dealing with refugees in Sofia, Bulgaria, and also did an exchange semester in Moscow, which really helped me understand Russia and learn Russian as I was immersed in Russian day to day life there. Later, I travelled on to Central Asian post-Soviet countries so I could study and research there.  I wanted to study Central Asia firstly because not much is commonly known about this whole region, so it still has a mysterious charm and still brings to mind the days of the historical Silk Road. As for practical reasons, this region is up and coming in world politics as the center of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and is looking forward to more regional integration and economic development, and soon it could, leveraged by China and Russia, become a major economic and political bloc. I study the processes through which the countries in the region are integrating with each other and how this region is developing economically so it can integrate into the world system and not be isolated anymore. More attention will be paid in the future to the SCO, considering especially the current events in world politics, so it is definitely an interesting region to be studied in the future.

Frederick Maranda-Bouchard

My name is Frederick Maranda-Bouchard, I am a second-year master student at the Centre for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies. My interests revolve around Central Asia and especially the functioning of its regimes. How I started learning about the region is a story as banal as they come. Following the events in Crimea, people started talking about northern Kazakhstan as a potential next hot spot for Russian expansionism. Trying to get more information on the subject, I got frustrated by its lack of availability, and decided to commit to one day be able to improve this situation. This drive has led me to make the region the main focus of most essays during my undergraduate degree and then enter a master degree with the region as one of its focus. Hopefully, I will continue down this path as I prepare my applications for the PhD.

This program gave me access to more resources on the region than ever before. As one of the few programs in the country which has a focus on Eurasia, it allowed me to be in company, for the first time in my academic life, of other people interested in the region. This includes not only faculty members but also other students sharing a similar love for this understudied area. Having classes specialized on the subject is something I never thought I could have access to someday as it seemed so niche at my previous university. The subjects covered in class and discussions with the instructor gave me access to different points of view on the region to which I would have not been exposed to in a more generalist setting. For those entertaining the idea of starting to look at Eurasia, I highly recommend giving it a try. While the way I came across the region could have led me anywhere on the globe, the same cannot be said about what kept me interested. The region is extremely complex. Therefore, do not expect to understand what is going on right away. The beauty of Central Asian politics comes from the layers of complexity that constitute it. You always uncover a new element that drastically change your perception of the situation. This makes it very difficult to bore those willing to dig further to uncover its secrets.

Darmen Koktov
My name is Darmen Koktov. I am in my second year doing an MA in European and Russian Affairs at CERES. Since I am from Kazakhstan, it was natural for me to choose a program that focuses on Eurasia. Despite the shared history and cultural bonds between Central Asians and Russia, outside expert communities, very few possess a deep understanding of the Soviet past and modern-day Russia. The existing discourse sometimes incorporates outright propagandist elements or falls victim to different nation-building strategies that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. CERES, with its world-class professors, high-quality education, and rigorous research standards, allows developing a more balanced view on the regional developments of past and present. My current research interests include a comparative analysis of power transitions in Post-Soviet Central Asia, China-Kazakhstan relations, and the U.S.-Russian rivalry. Some broader issues of democratization, authoritarianism, and patronal politics are also on my radar. I am, however, discovering new themes for potential research and trying different theoretical frameworks that can be best applied in the Central Asian context.

One of the significant personal benefits I received from CERES is that I gained confidence in the field I chose. While my previous education equipped me with the foundation that enabled me to be successful at the graduate level, it is the University of Toronto that opened the intellectual depth and breadth of my discipline. As a result, I am planning to continue my education at the Ph.D. level. The first roundtable I attended at CERES was devoted to Kazakhstan, and I really thought that there is not much that I can learn from that event. I treated it more as a networking session. You cannot imagine how wrong I was! Some information I received there was indeed jaw-dropping. Besides, I met a person who closely interacted with the country’s leadership, and his observations were precious for me. Such conferences are a fantastic opportunity to gain new knowledge and perspectives on topics crucial to one’s academic or career goals.

My advice to future students is to try to explore the region, and travel there if you have the opportunity. It is always enriching to have the first-hand experience of diving into the local culture and interacting with people. When it comes to Central Asia, in Kazakhstan, several universities and schools have either mixed or English language only as their official medium of instruction. It means that more and more people are becoming proficient in English. So, you will be in a comfortable environment while studying Russian and Kazakh languages and obtaining valuable experience. Uzbekistan is also undergoing rapid transformations opening more towards the outside world. Overall, Central Asia is known for its traditions of hospitality. You may forge friendships along your journey that will be essential for your academic, professional, and personal development. Believe in your ability to become an expert in the region, even if it is unfamiliar to you. Although knowing the language and being local provides certain advantages, the most insightful and fundamental research I have read on Eurasia was written by foreign scholars. You are blessed that some of them teach at CERES!