Russian and East European Studies
Graduate Student in Comparative Literature
M.A. in Comparative Studies and Russian Literature, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia (2018)
M.Sc. in Economics, Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Paris School of Economics, Paris, France, and National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia (double degree, 2014)
B.Sc. in Business-Informatics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia (2012)
Olga received her MA in Comparative Studies and Russian Literature from the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) in 2018. Her master thesis was devoted to the study of creative writing institutions in Russia, specifically the Higher Institute of Literature and Art (1921-1925) founded by Valerii Briusov and the Higher State Literary Courses (1925-1929). In her dissertation, preliminary titled "The Gorky Literary Institute: Creative Writing under Socialism," she is examining questions of mutual influence among formal education, creative processes, and literary evolution in the socialist world. Her project is aimed at analyzing and theorizing various literary institutions including the Gorky Literary Institute (1933-) and Literaturinstitut “Johannes R. Becher” (1955-) which produced (or sometimes failed to produce) socialist writers. In the academic year 2022-2023, she was a recipient of the DAAD One-Year Research Grant and the SSRC International Dissertation Research Fellowship. Thanks to this generous support, she had an opportunity to conduct her research in multiple locations, including Germany, Lithuania, Mali, Ghana, and Russia.
Website
Research Interests
Soviet Literature, Socialist Realism, Socialist Internationalism, Sociology of Literature, Digital Humanities, Creative Writing, Postcolonial Literature, Indigenous Studies
Selected Publications
- “The Instruction of Non-Soviet Writers at the Gorky Literary Institute: Gaoussou Diawara and Malian Literature.” In: The Soviet Cosmopolis: A Project of World Literature and its Global Impact. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2023. Forthcoming.
- “Незаменимые помощники или убийцы вдохновения: сравнительный анализ руководств по литературному мастерству 1920-х годов” [“Irreplaceable Assistants or Killers of Inspiration: A Comparative Analysis of Creative Writing Textbooks in the 1920s”]. In: Творческое письмо в России: сюжеты, подходы, проблемы [Creative Writing in Russia: Topics, Approaches, and Problems]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2023. Forthcoming.
- “Брюсов-педагог: античная литература и класс поэзии в ВЛХИ” [“Briusov as a Teacher: Classical Literature and Poetry Class at VLKhI”]. In: Cluster of articles “Creative Writing Studies: исследования в области литературного мастерства.” Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, No. 182, 2023. Forthcoming.
- “От составителей” [“From the Compilers”] (co-authored with Maya Kucherskaya). In: Cluster of articles “Creative Writing Studies: исследования в области литературного мастерства.” Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, No. 182, 2023. Forthcoming.
- “Высший литературно-художественный институт им. В. Я. Брюсова (ВЛХИ)” [“Briusov Higher Institute of Literature and Art (VLKhI)”.] In: “Литературные институции как классы литературной школы: материалы к словарю” (eds. Oleg Lekmanov, Mikhail Sverdlov). Зборник матице српске за славистику, No. 103, 2023. P. 389—405.
Courses Taught
- Summer 2022: Enhanced Intermediate Russian. Middlebury College, Middlebury Language Schools.
- Spring 2022: Advanced Russian II Russian Society Today (Independent Study).
- Spring 2021: RUSS 002 Elementary Russian II. University of Pennsylvania.
- Fall 2021: RUSS 001 Elementary Russian I. University of Pennsylvania.
- Summer 2020: REES 145 Masterpieces of 19C Russian Literature. University of Pennsylvania.
