Lejla Vesković's Mershon supported research project is "Cultural and Ideological Contacts Between Russia and Former Yugoslavia: Russian Émigré Community in Montenegro."

Project abstract:
The project is part of my dissertation, which examines the ideological and cultural connections between Russia and the independent countries of the former Yugoslavia from the 19th century to the present day. The proposed research focuses on the new forms of social institutes and cultural engagement initiated by the Russian émigré community as a result of the oppositional activism against the authoritarian regime in their home country. My two primary goals are: 1) observing how the immigrant community has integrated into Montenegrin society and 2) investigating the Russian émigré population’s search for new social interaction and cultural production models in the context of the Ukraine war reality.  It is assumed that the Russian oppositional diaspora has cultivated an alternative collective identity within the émigré institutions, which they may attempt to reinstate in their home countries. The research deserves close attention and scrutiny as it may indicate the possible alternative social symbolic and institutional order in Russia once the political context permits.