Lolja Nordic is a multidisciplinary artist and ecofeminist activist from Saint Petersburg, advocating for climate justice, gender equality, human rights and animal rights. A speaker and co-organizer of many grassroots feminist, environmental and LGBTQ+ protests, cultural and educational events. A co-organizer and curator of the International DIY Charity Music Festival “NE VINOVATA” (“Not Her Fault”) in support of domestic violence survivors. An antiwar activist and a co-founder of the International Feminist Anti-War Resistance movement, which was created on 25.03.2022 to protest the war in Ukraine. During the two years of the pandemic, Lolja was also involved in the covid-awareness activism in Russia, sharing practices of care and mutual aid among the local communities of young artists and musicians. As a columnist and blogger Lolja writes about gender and environmental issues, culture and society for the Russian and European media such as The Calvert Journal, Wonderzine, Colta, The Blueprint, Vogue Russia, Forbes Women Russia.
Ella Rossman is a doctoral student at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in University College London. She was previously a researcher and a lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities in Higher School of Economics, Moscow. Ella's research is now focused on late Soviet girlhood; she is also writing about feminism in post-Soviet Russia. Ella's articles were published in History of Science and Humanities, New Perspectives and Ab Imperio. She wrote for Meduza, Novaya Gazeta, Forbes Women Russia and Riddle.
Andrei Soldatov is a non-resident senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis. Andrei is a Russian investigative journalist, co-founder, and editor of Agentura.ru, a watchdog of the Russian secret services’ activities. He has been covering security services and terrorism issues since 1999. In October 2012 Agentura.Ru, Privacy International, and Citizen Lab launched the joint project 'Russia’s Surveillance State' with Andrei Soldatov as a head of the project, to undertake research and investigation into surveillance practices in Russia, including the trade in and use of surveillance technologies. The project's research over surveillance measures introduced by the Russian authorities at the 2014 Winter Olympics was run by the Guardian as a frontpage story.
Leon Hartwell is the Sotirov Fellow at LSE IDEAS and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington D.C. His research interests include conflict resolution, genocide, transitional justice, diplomacy, democracy, and the Western Balkans. Previously, Hartwell was CEPA’s Acting Director of the Transatlantic Leadership Program and a Title VIII Fellow. From 2012 to 2013, he was also the Senior Policy Advisor for Political and Development Cooperation at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe, where his work included government and civil society engagement, political reporting, peace building projects, and supporting human rights defenders. In 2019, Hartwell completed a joint doctoral degree summa cum laude at Leipzig University (Germany) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). His thesis analyzed the use of mediation in the resolution of armed conflicts.