Guzel Garifullina

I am an Assistant Professor at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies (University of Richmond). I have earned my PhD in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. Prior to coming to Richmond, I have been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University. I am a political scientist, and my work combines my interest in authoritarian politics, political leader behavior and impact on governance, and Russian politics.

I use lab and  survey experiments and municipal-level observational data. In one of the recent papers, I test a theory of political ambition applicable to subnational political leaders in hybrid and authoritarian regimes using laboratory experiments in Russia. Another paper explores public policy decisions at the municipal level in Russia, connecting the willingness of municipal politicians to commit to long-term infrastructure projects with the way they were selected into office. For all the recent and ongoing projects, check my Research page.

I am originally from Ufa (Russia), a beautiful city near the Ural mountains, with the best honey and wild strawberry in the world. I love Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and am an occasional Trekkie. I live in Richmond with my husband Kevin and our dog Charlie.