Summer Research Grants Presentation

On November 16, two AUBG students, Aelita Khusnutdinova and Nadezhda Kaloferova, presented their research papers for the third edition of the Summer Research Grants.

The Political Science Department launched the Summer Research Grants two years ago. It was during the COVID-19 crisis that faculty members created this opportunity to support students who could not participate in Work and Travel. During the summer, the grants’ winners work on a research project under the guidance and supervision of a faculty member.

One of this year’s recipients, Aelita, researched Kazakhstan’s reactions to the invasion of Ukraine and the changes to its relations with Russia.

"The war in Ukraine had a huge impact on Kazakhstan," she said.

Aelita pointed out security and economy as the main areas the war in Ukraine influenced regarding the Kazakhstan-Russia relationship.

"Kazakhstan and Russia share a wide border, which is the reason why their relationship is so complicated regarding security," Aelita said. "In terms of economy, Kazakhstan heavily relies on oil, but 80 percent of its oil goes to Russia. This creates a highly dependent connection between the two countries."

She also mentioned the change in Kazakhstan’s internal affairs.

"Kazakhstan is known for not allowing its citizens to protest in the streets. However, after the start of the war, government officials allowed a protest to happen so that people could say they are against the war in Ukraine," she said.

Aelita’s last point regarded media coverage and the statements that government officials produced. These areas changed after the war in Ukraine broke out and thus transformed the mutually dependent relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia.

"The government-ruled media is discussing the conflict, but it does not say it is a war. It instead uses terms like "military operation" and "fighting". Throughout my research, I did not encounter ‘war’ in these media," Aelita said.

The other grant winner, Nadezhda, also based her research on the topic of the war in Ukraine. She studied whether Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine focusing on the legal debate and the two main perspectives - atrocities and propaganda.

"These two are the main reasons why we are speaking of genocide," Nadezhda said.

The Genocide Convention is the main course of international law that works with genocide and looks at its insights.

"The effectiveness of the Genocide Convention is fundamental," Nadezhda said.

She also emphasized the significance of the arguments for and the definition of genocide. The Convention provides the shortcomings, but it is not the only thing to look at when trying to recognize the arguments and identify actual genocide.

"The definition of genocide is very narrow and specific," Nadezhda said.

The tight definition creates the main problem regarding how to recognize whether an action can qualify as genocide or not.

"The main problem is you have to focus on particular actions and find evidence," Nadezhda said. "You need very specific evidence to prove a connection between actual events, genocide as a crime, and certain actors like Russia. Even if the Court decides to prosecute Russia for genocide, it will probably not succeed because it is very difficult to prove."

After each presentation, the floor was open for students and professors to ask questions and launch a discussion on the two topics. They exchanged knowledge, opinions, and suggestions for future ideas.

At the end of April 2023, the application form will be open for the new potential grant recipients. After filling in the form, a Committee will evaluate the applications and announce the winners.