Leyla Latypova

Leyla Latypova is a journalist and political analyst focusing on politics and civil society in Russia’s ethnic republics. She is one of the few English-speaking Indigenous professionals whose scholarly and journalistic work is dedicated solely to advancing and protecting the rights of Russia’s non-Slavic Indigenous communities and ethnic minorities. 

Latypova has more than a decade of experience in empirical research on politics and protest mobilization in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus and the Balkans, as well as strong connections with pro-democracy communities in those regions. She worked as a geopolitical risk analyst covering REECA and the Middle East at one of the world’s leading security risk management companies before joining Russia’s flagship independent English-language news outlet The Moscow Times in 2020. In Summer 2024 Latypova piloted From the Republics, the first-ever English-language newsletter spotlighting politics, society, and culture in Russia’s ethnic republics.

Latypova is an ethnic Tatar hailing from the Republic of Bashkortostan.

She holds a BA in International Affairs & Political Science from Northeastern University in Boston and a joint MA in Economy, State and Society from University College London and University of Belgrade.