Natasha’s current research investigates processes of canonization and, in particular, Soviet cultural policy towards pre-revolutionary Russian literary heritage. She explores how perception of the ‘Russian canon’ evolved during the Soviet period and the role of institutional mechanisms in those shifts. Natasha’s past work has also dealt with historical and ethnographic themes in official and unofficial Soviet-era literature (Kharms, Vaginov, Gaidar). 

Natasha’s academic interests span the East Slavic region and include comparative East Slavic linguistics, regional food cultures, and linguistic and education policy. In particular, she is interested in the status of the Belarusian language in Soviet and present-day Belarus, and is currently investigating Belarusian- and Russian-language publishing output in the BSSR.

Natasha grew up in Boston, but lived in Tartu, Estonia and Brest, Belarus before coming to Harvard. She is a 3rd-year Ph.D. student in 2023-2024.

M.A. 2020 University of Tartu
B.A. 2018 University of Pennsylvania