Dr. Karena Avedissian is a political scientist focusing on social movements, new media, civil society, and security in the former Soviet Union, with an area focus on Russia and the Caucasus. In addition to the research she does, she provides consulting for Freedom House and Harvard’s Berkman-Klein Center, as well as investigative work for private companies looking into corruption in the region. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, Open Democracy, Global Voices, Transitions Online, and Hetq. Karena received her PhD from the Centre of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Birmingham UK in 2015. She is currently a lecturer at the American University of Armenia.