Professional Affiliation

Research Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown

Expert Bio

Irina Papkova is a Research Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs (Georgetown University). Previously, she taught international relations for five years at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Papkova has previously held fellowships from the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center in Sapporo, the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and the Kennan Institute. Her 2011 book, "The Orthodox Church and Russian Politics," was published jointly by the Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Oxford University Press.

Wilson Center Project

The Orthodox Church and Russian Politics: 2008-2015

Project Summary

I will be working on the sequel to my 2011 book "The Orthodox Church and Russian Politics." The new book will examine the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)'s place in the constellation of Russian politics since 2008, focusing in particular on its role in and response to the Putin regime's decisive turn towards autarchic authoritarianism. At Kennan, I propose to complete the first two chapters, relying on material available at the Library of Congress. The project will shed light on the importance of the "Orthodox factor" in both domestic and foreign Russian politics, leading to a better understanding of "what Russia wants" in its renewed confrontation with the West.

Major Publications

The Orthodox Church and Russian Politics (New York: Oxford University Press; Woodrow Wilson Center Press Washington D.C., 2011).

"The Three Religions of Armenians in Lebanon” in Alexander Agajanian, ed. Armenian Christianity Today: Identity Politics, Popular Practices and Social Functions (Farnham: Ashgate) 2014: 171-196.

“The Contemporary Study of Religion, Society and Politics in Russia: A Scholar’s Reflections” Religion, State and Society 41,3 (2013): 244-253.

Previous Terms

Kennan Institute Title VIII-Supported Short-Term Scholar. Assistant Professor, Central European University, Budapest. "The Second Civil War? Reinterpreting the Great Patriotic War." Jul 1, 2009 - August 1, 2009. || Kennan Institute Title VIII-Supported Research Scholar: Independent Scholar, Washington, D.C.. "The Russian Orthodox Church and the State: Prospects for Democracy." Jan 10, 2007 - Aug 29, 2007. Project Summary: The purpose of the project is to determine the ways in which the Russian Orthodox church influences political outcomes on the federal level in today’s Russian Federation, and to ascertain what this may mean for the prospects of democratic change in that country.