Estonia: From Colonized Land to Independent E-State
Estonia is a mostly flat, small country, two thirds of which is covered by forests and marshlands. Its strategic location on the northern Baltic coast…
Read MoreArticles by Josh Wilson
Josh has been with SRAS since 2003. He holds an M.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in History from Idaho State University, where his masters thesis was written on the political economy of Soviet-era censorship organs affecting the stage. He lived in Moscow from 2003-2022, where he ran Moscow operations for SRAS. At SRAS, Josh still assists in program development and leads our internship programs. He is also the editor-in-chief for the SRAS newsletter, the SRAS Family of Sites, and Vestnik. He has previously served as Communications Director to Bellerage Alinga and has served as a consultant or translator to several businesses and organizations with interests in Russia.
VESTNIK – Issue 22, Fall, 2025
In this, its 22nd issue, Vestnik explores issues as diverse as literature, sports, film, and prisoners of war. Many of these articles focus on these…
Russian for Wonks: Demographics and Childbirth
Russian demographics have been a major policy issue for the Russian state since its formation in 1991. As the population continues to age and fertility…
Kyrgyzstan: Nomadic Heritage, Modern Ambitions
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked and highly mountainous country in Central Asia. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has faced a complex…
Russian for Wonks: The Geopolitics of Summer Camp
For many Russian children, summer camp is a cherished rite of passage—an escape from school routines into a world of bonfires, games, and shared songs….
Poland: A Developing Central European Power
Poland joined the European Union in 2004 as part of the EU’s “big bang” of Eastern expansion. This broke the Cold War’s East-West divide and…
Central Asia: Core and Periphery
Central Asia is, by its most common definition, those five “stans” that were formerly Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, this has…
A Guide to Russia’s Resources
Natural resources remain a crucial part of Russia’s economy and play a role in its projection of power abroad. Domestically, resource rents (profits) accounted for…
VESTNIK – Issue 21, Fall, 2024
Vestnik was launched by SRAS in 2004 as one of the world’s first online academic journals focused on showcasing student research. We welcome and invite…
Understanding Moscow through Literature, History, and Film
Fyodor Tyutchev once said that “Russia cannot be known by the mind” – but perhaps Moscow can be known through literature and historical surveys? A…
Recommended Books for Understanding Russia
The following books are those that have left a deep impression on me. They are books that I was driven to pick up and keep…
AI in Publishing and Education
As someone who works in publishing and with student authors, I have had the opportunity to both work with generative AI and with students working…
VESTNIK: Call for Papers, Editorial Board, Policies, and Processes
Vestnik was launched by SRAS in 2004 as one of the world’s first online academic journals focused on showcasing student research. We welcome and…
Latvia: A Case Study of Colonization and Independence
Latvia is a small country on the Baltic Sea coast. Although it has maintained a distinct language and culture for hundreds of years, it has…
Origins of Russia: Moscow Becomes an Empire (Prehistory to 1584)
Moscow is not just a city. It was a fort that became a city, that became a state, that became an empire, that became a…
Armenia: A Global People
The Modern Republic of Armenia lies in the turbulent south Caucuses. Although the Armenians as a people have existed for thousands of years, they have…
Armenia’s Foreign Policy and Security Issues for 2023
The most important issue in Armenia’s regional relations is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia is a landlocked country flanked by two historical adversaries, Turkey and Azerbaijan,…
Nagorno-Karabakh: The Volatile Core of the South Caucasus
The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is one of four frozen conflicts that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Legally recognized as a part of…
Kyrgyzstan: A GeoHistory Study Guide
Kyrgyzstan is a small, strikingly mountainous country near the center of the immense Eurasian landmass. Influences from diverse empires can be felt there today: Mongol,…
Georgia: A GeoHistory Study Guide
What Georgia might lack in size it makes up for in personality. Over the millennia, the nation we now call Georgia has been part of…