Dr. Gulnaz Sharafutdinova joined King’s Russia Institute in September 2013. Gulnaz previously worked at Miami University (Ohio), as an associate professor of political science and international studies and an associate of the Havighurst Centre for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies. She studies comparative politics and political economy with a focus on Russia. Her forthcoming book – The Red Mirror (Oxford University Press, expected October 2020) - inquires into Putin’s leadership strategy and relies on social identity theory to explain his success. Her previous book – Political Consequences of Crony Capitalism Inside Russia (Notre Dame University Press, 2010) – studied the mechanisms through which informal practices of political and economic power have shaped contemporary Russia.
Gulnaz holds a PhD from the George Washington University, and speaks fluent Russian, Tatar and English.