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About me

My name is Liudmila (Mila) Listrovaya. I am Postdoctoral research fellow at the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, University of Michigan. I am a sociologist specializing in Environmental and Political Sociology, with a particular focus on Russian Area Studies. My work bridges the intersections of culture, politics, and inequality, exploring how power dynamics shape societal and environmental outcomes. My research agenda is driven by a commitment to understanding and addressing issues of environmental governance, migration, and the impacts of authoritarian regimes. My interdisciplinary approach combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, ethnography, content analysis, and statistical modeling, to shed light on pressing global and regional challenges.

My current research spans two major streams. The first examines environmental inequality and politics in Russia, focusing on how resource extraction and pollution intersect with ethnicity and regional disparities, particularly in Indigenous territories. The second explores the lived experiences of relokanti—Russian political migrants who fled the country following the war in Ukraine and conscription announcements. Through fieldwork in the Republic of Georgia, I investigate how extraterritorial authoritarianism shapes their strategies of silence and non-engagement. These projects have garnered recognition through prestigious awards and grants. My work has appeared in journals such as Society and Natural Resources and Qualitative Sociology. Currently, I am developing book projects that delve deeper into environmental injustice and migration in post-Soviet spaces.

​I speak Russian, English, and Mandarin Chinese. ​Before coming to the US to pursue a Ph.D., I lived in St. Petersburg. I obtained a Specialist degree from St. Petersburg State University in 2015. During my undergraduate studies, I also lived and studied in Taiwan (成功大学) and China (天津外国语大学).