Conference Programme

25 May 2026, Pre-conference, doctoral workshop

12.15-16.00  Opening of the pre-Conference, Dr., Title of Docent, Joni Virkkunen, Director of the VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies (UEF)

Keynote by Professor Sanna Turoma, Tampere University: title tba
Papers by doctoral students with expert & peer comments

19.00-21.00  Evening programme

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26 May 2026, Conference Day 1

9.15-9.30  Opening of the Conference

9.30-10.30 Keynote talk I
Chair & Discussant: Professor Simo Mikkonen (UEF)

Unfinished Pasts, Contested Presents: Decolonisation or Recolonisation? A Georgian Perspective on Culture and Power by Associate Professor Nana Sharikadze (Caucasus University, Georgia)

10.30-12.00 Panel discussion 1: Culture as Civic activism in the ex-Soviet area, and beyond

Chair: Professor Marja Sorvari (UEF); Panellists: Dr. Connor Doak (University of Birmingham, UK), Associate Professor Nana Sharikadze (Caucasus University, Georgia), Professor Pekka Suutari (UEF)

12.00-13.00  Lunch break

13.00-16.30  Paper sessions 1-2 (incl. coffee break)   

19.00   Dinner and Get-together (for registered participants), Winter Swimming Centre Joensuu Polar Bears  Club, Mäntyniementie 1.

27 May 2026, Conference Day 2

9.30-10.30   Keynote talk II 
Chair & Discussant: Dr Pauliina Lukinmaa (UEF)

Choking on Words: Russophone Anti-War Poetry on the Invasion of Ukraine
by Dr Connor Doak (University of Bristol, UK)

10.30-12.00  Panel discussion 2: State uses of culture as power in the contemporary world

Chair: Professor Olga Davydova-Minguet (UEF); Panellists: Dr. Julia Bethwaite (Tampere University), Professor Katharina Kunter (University of Helsinki), Dr. Jussi Mäkelä (UEF), Professor Sanna Turoma (Tampere University)

12.00-13.00  Lunch break 

13.00-16.30  Paper sessions 3-4 (incl. coffee break)  

16.30   End of the Conference