Aidar works as a Quality Assurance Assistant at ACLED and has been with the organization since September 2018, originally hired as a researcher for Russia. He conducts regular quality control checks and methodological reviews, and assists the methodology team with overall data quality and accuracy. Aidar holds an MA in European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies from Carleton University and a BA in International Relations and History from University of Toronto. Aidar’s research interests include the emergence of authoritarian states and democratic transition in the post-Soviet space.