Experts on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

University of Michigan experts can discuss Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine and its implications on global politics, economics and the human scale. For guidance on experts, email umichnews@umich.edu.

Javed Ali, associate professor of practice at the Ford School of Public Policy, is a former senior U.S. government counterterrorism official with more than 20 years of professional experience in national security and intelligence issues in Washington, D.C. He can discuss Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine and its implications on global politics, economics and the human scale.

Video: Ukraine Crisis

Commentary: The ghosts of Afghanistan haunt Ukraine

Contact: alimust@umich.edu

Adam Casey is a postdoctoral fellow at the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies. His research broadly considers the relationship between external intervention and domestic politics in nondemocracies. He can discuss Russian foreign policy, authoritarianism and Putin’s government.

Contact: aecasey@umich.edu

John CiorciariJohn Ciorciari is an associate professor of public policy and director of the Ford School of Public Policy’s International Policy Center and Weiser Diplomacy Center. He can talk about international relations, politics, law and criminal justice.

The Conversation: As Ukraine war deepens great-power divisions, a revitalized non-aligned movement could emerge

Contact: johncior@umich.edu

Pauline Jones, professor of political science, can discuss the historical origins of the crisis, territorial integrity and internal politics of Russia and Ukraine. Her past work has contributed broadly to the study of institutional origin, change and impact with an empirical focus on the former Soviet Union.

Contact: pjluong@umich.edu

Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice at the Ford School of Public Policy, is a retired U.S. ambassador and served as officer-in-charge of U.S.-Soviet bilateral relations and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. He can address Russia’s history, politics, international relations and diplomacy.

Story/video: Ukraine-Russia crisis: What to know

Video: Examining the ramifications of Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Contact: levitsky@umich.edu

Contact: dnsltr@umich.edu

Dan Slater is a professor of political science and the director of the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies. He specializes in the politics and history of enduring dictatorships and emerging democracies.

Q&A/audio: Putting Putin in his place: A dictator at war

Barry Rabe is a professor of environmental policy at the Ford School of Public Policy. He examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy.

Contact: brabe@umich.edu

Yuri ZhukovYuri Zhukov is an associate professor of political science and research associate professor at the Center for Political Studies. His research focuses on the causes, dynamics and outcomes of conflict at the international and local levels. He can talk about the Ukrainian government, separatism and other topics related to Ukraine.

Story/video: Data on the Russian invasion of Ukraine available in near-real time

Contact: zhukov@umich.edu

Pamela Ballinger, professor of history, is an expert on human rights, refugees and displacement, and empire/decolonization.

Contact: pballing@umich.edu

Eugene BondarenkoEugene Bondarenko ​​is a lecturer of Ukrainian and Russian languages and cultures, who studies Ukrainian society. He has experience in the region and has worked as an interpreter. He can address the geopolitical security issues and cultural context, and can fact check any cultural or historic claims.

Q&A: Understanding Ukraine’s fierce will to fight

Contact: eivanov@umich.edu

Mikhail Krutikov, professor and chair of Slavic languages and literatures and Judaic studies, is a native Russian and expert on Jewish-Slavic relations. He says Ukrainian people are more resistant to “paternalistic government” than their Russian neighbors.

Contact: slavicchair@umich.edu

Svitlana Rogovyk, lecturer of Slavic languages and literatures, is a native Ukrainian who teaches both Russian and Ukrainian languages. She has friends and relatives in Ukraine who will not leave and says the world must act to end the Russian attack.

Contact: srogovyk@umich.edu

Ronald Grigor SunyRonald Suny, professor of history and political science, is a former researcher at the National Research University in St. Petersburg, Russia. His intellectual interests have centered on the non-Russian nationalities and history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. He can discuss Russian history, nationalism, imperialism and ethnic conflict.

The Conversation: Ukraine war follows decades of warnings that NATO expansion into Eastern Europe could provoke Russia

The Conversation: A historian corrects misunderstandings about Ukrainian and Russian history

The Conversation: Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin’s aim—the threat alone could advance Russia’s goals

Video: Putin’s invasion miscalculation could result in a coup

Contact: rgsuny@umich.edu

Jeffrey Veidlinger, professor of history and Judaic studies, has written several books on Jewish culture and life in Russia and Ukraine. He is chair of the Academic Advisory Council of the Center for Jewish History and a member of the executive committee of the American Academy for Jewish Research and the academic committee of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The Conversation: Putin’s claim to rid Ukraine of Nazis is especially absurd given its history

The Conversation: A brief history of Babi Yar, where Nazis massacred Jews, Soviets kept silence and now Ukraine says Russia fired a missile

Contact: jveidlin@umich.edu 

Erik GordonErik Gordon, clinical assistant professor at the Ross School of Business, is an expert on entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and activism, investment banking, the biomedical industry and more. He can address the impact of multinational corporate pullouts in Russia in protest of the Ukrainian invasion.

Contact: rmegordo@umich.edu

Daniil Manaenkov

Daniil Manaenkov is an economic forecaster at the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, who can address sanctions against the Russian energy sector and their impact on U.S. gas prices and inflation.

Contact: daniil@umich.edu

Paolo Pasquariello

Paolo Pasquariello is a finance professor at the Ross School of Business. His research interests include international finance and information economics.

Story: Ukraine-Russia: What to know about decisions by global business players as war rages

Story/video: Ukraine-Russia: What to know about the potential fallout for global financial markets

Contact: ppasquar@umich.edu

Amiyatosh Purnanandam

Amiyatosh Purnanandam is a professor of finance at the Ross School of Business. His research covers a wide range of topics in banking and corporate finance, including the causes and consequences of financial crisis. He can talk about the impact of the financial sanctions placed on Russia.

Q&A: Financial sanctions against Russia will create wide-ranging impact

Contact: amiyatos@umich.edu

Maxim Sytch

Maxim Sytch is a professor of management and organizations at the Ross School of Business. His research focuses on leadership, influence and power dynamics. He grew up in Ukraine and Russia and still has relatives and friends in both places. He can discuss the war in Ukraine, particularly the differences in leadership styles of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Story: U-M business expert with roots in Ukraine, Russia finds war ‘painful’ and ‘incomprehensible’

Contact: mstych@umich.edu

Contact: uehling@umich.edu

Brian Porter-Szucs, professor of history, is an expert on Polish and East European intellectual and cultural history, nationalism, religion and economic and social history.

Q&A/video: Poland’s welcome of Ukrainian refugees comes with challenges

Contact: baporter@umich.edu

Great Uehling

Greta Uehling is an anthropologist and lecturer in international and comparative studies. Her recent research focuses on the experience of people displaced by the war in Donbas and the Russian occupation of Crimea since 2014, focusing on their political agency, tolerance and human rights. She can talk about ethnic conflict, human rights and a possible refugee crisis.

Q&A with video: Ukraine at war: Continuity and displacement

Watch: Ukraine and Russia at War

Scott Campbell, professor of communication and media, studies the meanings, uses and consequences of mobile media and communication in everyday life. He can discuss the role of the global media in covering public opinion and response within Russia, as well as the daily reports about how the invasion is unfolding and how Ukraine is responding.

Story: Russian invasion news coverage could be much better, U-M expert says

Contact: swcamp@umich.edu

Andrei MarkovitsAndrei Markovits, professor of political science, has worked extensively on comparative sports culture in Europe and North America. He can discuss the impact of the sports sanctions against Russia and how Russian President Vladimir Putin sees athletic endeavor as symbolic of Russia’s stature and ambition.

Contact: andymark@umich.edu

Paul Resnick

Paul Resnick, professor of information at the School of Information, is an expert on social media and social computing, collective intelligence and organizational technology, human computer interaction and more. He can talk about the reliance on social media for new about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Story: As Russia invades Ukraine, social media users ‘fly to quality’

Contact: presnick@umich.edu

Stefan SzymanskiStefan Szymanski, professor of sport management, is an expert on sports economics, history, culture and society, and international sports federations and the governance of sport, particularly soccer.

The Conversation: FIFA’s suspension of Russia is a rarity – but one that strips bare the idea that sport can be apolitical

The Conversation: Lasso-ing Chelsea FC? Why super-rich US sports owners are looking to buy a London soccer team

Contact: 734-647-0950, stefansz@umich.edu

Kira Thurman, assistant professor of history, music and German, is a classically trained pianist and musicologist who grew up in Austria. She can address the idea that art can bring us together during times of conflict, as well as society’s impulse to stay away from performers allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Contact: thurmank@umich.edu