On 17 January 2021, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested, sparking a wave of demonstrations in opposition to President Vladimir Putin. ACLED Europe Research Manager Franklin Holcomb, Europe Assistant Research Manager Olha Polishchuk, Europe Researcher Aidar Dossymov, and Research Analyst Adam Miller map the spike in unrest.
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Franklin is a Europe Research Manager at ACLED. Before joining ACLED, Franklin worked at the Institute for the Study of War where he authored multiple reports on the structure and capabilities of Ukrainian and Russian-led separatist forces. He also spent time as an academic assistant at the Baltic Defense College while working on his master's degree in Tartu, Estonia. Franklin graduated from Texas A&M University with a double major in Russian Language and International politics and diplomacy.
Olha is the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia Research Manager at ACLED. She holds an LLM in Human Rights Law with International Law and an LLM in Law of the Sea. She has working experience in the private law sector, with Ukrainian government institutions and human rights NGOs. Olha is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and German, and has working knowledge of Arabic and basic Dari.
Aidar is a Russia Researcher at ACLED. He earned his BA in International Relations and History from University of Toronto and his MA in Area Studies from Carleton University's Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. Aidar’s research focuses on the emergence of authoritarianism and democratic transition in the post-Soviet space.
Adam Miller is a Research Analyst at ACLED. He holds a BA in Political Science from Allegheny College and an MA in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Adam's research focuses on the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations in civil wars, cooperative security organizations, and US foreign policy.
