Workshop - The soviet legacy: political economy, conflict, and environmental change

January 18-19, 2027

Theme and Scope

Current geopolitical tensions have renewed attention to the enduring legacy of the Soviet Union in shaping contemporary patterns of political conflict, economic integration, state capacity, and environmental vulnerability across Eurasia and beyond. By bringing historical and geoeconomic perspectives into dialogue with current policy debates, the workshop aims to deepen our understanding of how Soviet-era institutions, infrastructures, and political dynamics continue to influence present-day economic, environmental, and geopolitical outcomes.

This event aims to bring together leading and early-career researchers working on the economic, environmental and political legacy of the Soviet Union, with a particular emphasis on political economy, international, and environmental economics. We welcome contributions from empirical, theoretical, and policy perspectives.

To register, please fill in this form: The Soviet Legacy - Political Economy, Conflict, and Environmental Change 

Programme

Monday, 18 January

8:30 Registration and coffee

9:30 Welcome by the organizers

Session 1: State Repression and the Hidden Costs of Soviet Authoritarianism

Chair: Alexey Makarin

09:15 - 09:55 Viktor Veterinarov (Sciences Po)
Under Soviet State Repression: The Lasting Impact on Inventive Output
Discussant: Nikita Zakharov (University of Freiburg)

09:55 - 10:35 Kampui Tsang (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Hidden Soviet Military-Industrial Contamination Shaped Long-Run Health Outcomes
Discussant: Olga Shemyakina (Georgia Institute of Technology)

10:35 - 10:55 - Coffee Break

Keynote

10:55 - 11:55 Volha Charnysh (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Title to be announced
Chair: Alexey Makarin

11:55 - 13:00 - Lunch

Session 2: Beliefs and Values: Legacies of Repression and Transition

Chair: Jean-François Maystadt

13:00 - 13:40 Daniil Starikov (University of Chicago, Harris School) 
The Threat of Faith: The Determinants and Legacies of Soviet Anti-Religious Repression
Discussant: Amma Panin (UCLouvain)

13:40 - 14:20 William Pyle (Middlebury College)
Russian Society, Democratic Values, and the Legacy of the Early-1990s Economic Shock
Discussant: Natalya Naumenko (GMU)

14:20 - 14:40 - Coffee Break

Session 3: Institutions and State-Building after the Soviet Collapse

Chair: Natalya Naumenko

14:40 - 15:20 Leonid Polishchuk (Indiana University)
Post- Communist Transition as Critical Juncture: Theory and Empirical Evidence
Discussant: William Pyle (Middlebury College)

15:20 - 16:00 Berkeren Büyükeren (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) 
Remaking the State from Below: Local Government Formation in Ukraine
Discussant: Anders Olofsgård (Stockholm School of Economics, SITE)

16:00 - 16:20 - Coffee Break

Session 4: Conflict: National Identity and the Economic Costs of War

Chair: Jean-François Maystadt

16:20 - 17:00 Serhii Abramenko (Rome Economics Doctorate)
 War and Nation-Building: Evidence from Ukraine
 Discussant: Roya Talibova (Harvard Kennedy School)

17:00 - 17:40 Timo Wochner (KOF, ETH Zurich)
 Economic Development in the Shadow of War
Discussant: Andrey Tkachenko (Nazarbayev University)

19:00 - Workshop dinner (Table L) - (Upon invitation)

TUESDAY, 19 JANUARY 2027

09:00 - 09:20 - coffee

Session 5: Media, Propaganda and Disinformation

Chair: Jean-François Maystadt

09:20 -10:00 Yaroslav Prokhorskoy (ESSEC Business School)
Transmitting Terror: Radio and Repression in Stalin’s Soviet Union
Discussant: Maria Petrova (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona School of Economics)

10:00 - 10:40 Anders Olofsgård (Stockholm School of Economics, SITE)
Countering Disinformation in a Geopolitical Battleground: Experimental Evidence on Information, Civic Appeals, and Source Credibility in Moldova
Discussant: Alexey Makarin (MIT)

10:40 - 11:00 - Coffee Break

Keynote

11:00 - 12:00 Maria Petrova (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona School of Economics)
Title to beannounced
Chair: Natalya Naumenko

12:00 - 13:00 - Lunch

Session 6: Aggression, Sanctions and Geoeconomic Tools

Chair: Alexey Makarin

13:00 - 13:40 Alena Gorbuntsova (University of Chicago)
The Domestic Political Economy of War: Evidence from Russia
Discussant: Lorenzo Trimarchi (University of Namur)

13:40 - 14:20 Andrey Tkachenko (Nazarbayev University)
 Speaking the Aggressor’s Language: Identity and Sanctions Evasion
Discussant: Konstantin Egorov (University of Antwerp)

14:20 - 14:30 - Closing remarks

Organizing Committee

• Alexey Makarin (MIT), 
• Jean-François Maystadt (UCLouvain)
• Natalya Naumenko (GMU)

With the support of the MIT-Belgium International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Global seeds Funds

   Download the PDF version of the programme