Dr Olga Vlasova is a political scientist specialising in authoritarian politics, propaganda, and political communication in contemporary Russia. She is currently a Visiting Researcher at the King’s Russia Institute, King’s College London. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Lomonosov Moscow State University, where she also completed her integrated bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

With over a decade of university-level teaching experience, Dr Vlasova served as an Assistant Professor at the State Academic University for the Humanities, where she taught courses in regional and comparative politics. She has also taught on Russian politics and society at University City London.

Dr Vlasova’s professional background bridges academic research, policy development, and real-world political engagement. She has held senior roles in international education, including as Director of International Internships at the Higher School of Economics and Programme Manager at the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, where she led executive education initiatives and international academic exchanges for public sector leaders and students.

In addition to her academic and educational work, Dr Vlasova has extensive experience in democratic party building and electoral politics in Russia. Over more than a decade, she was involved in organising national and regional election campaigns and developing democratic political institutions. Her work included strategic planning, candidate support, grassroots mobilisation, and political training programmes.

Dr Vlasova also contributes actively to public discourse on authoritarian governance, propaganda, and civil society. Her analysis and commentary have appeared in The Guardian, The National Interest, The Loop, and other international outlets.

Research interests

Olga’s research explores state strategies of emotional governance, politics of pacification, and the political role of media in conflict. Her recent research includes analysis of propaganda techniques during Russia’s war against Ukraine, the use of pacification narratives to manage domestic audiences, and the psychological mechanisms through which citizens rationalise state violence. She combines qualitative and interpretive methods with policy analysis to examine the evolving nature of state-society relations in Russia.

Latest publications

Vlasova, O. (2024). Vlasova O. The Politics of Pacification: Analyzing the Kremlin’s Approaches to Managing Public Sentiment in Times of War //How to Deter. – С. 49 - 62. [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2024). War’s Shadow: Exploring Multifaceted Strategies in the Politics of Fear. In Proceedings of the Challenges to National Defence in Contemporary Geopolitical Situation, Brno, Czech Republic, 11-13 September 2024. ISSN 2538-8959. [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2023). Stsenarii prekrashcheniya ekonomicheskikh sanktsii: klyuchevye prichiny i faktory. In Studia Humanitatis, (4), 8. Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya "Institut sovremennykh gumanitarnykh issledovaniy". [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2022). Diktatura strakha v kontekste razvitiya informatsionnogo obshchestva. Studia Humanitatis, (4), 9. Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya "Institut sovremennykh gumanitarnykh issledovaniy". [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2022). Fenomen obshchestvennoy podderzhki nasiliya cherez prizmu kontseptsii spravedlivogo mira. Studia Humanitatis, (1), 9. Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya "Institut sovremennykh gumanitarnykh issledovaniy". [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2021). Tendentsii razvitiya politicheskikh partiy v usloviyakh informatsionnogo obshchestva. Studia Humanitatis, (1), 10. Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya "Institut sovremennykh gumanitarnykh issledovaniy". [URL]

Vlasova, O. (2020). Tsifrovoi avtoritarizm i elektronnaya demokratiya: soderzhanie i granitsy. Studia Humanitatis, (3), 6. Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya "Institut sovremennykh gumanitarnykh issledovaniy". [URL]

Key blog articles

Putin’s Fear of Weakness: The Real Barrier to a Ukraine Peace Deal. [URL]

Why are Russians struggling to access YouTube? [URL]

Ukraine’s Kursk Operation Sends Clear Signal to Russia. [URL]

Why terminating sanctions is more difficult than initiating them? [URL]

Is Russia preparing to conscript migrants in the next phase of its war with Ukraine? [URL]

Redefining Russian elections: insights from Moscow's 2023 mayoral race. [URL]