Mariia Kurbak received her PhD from the Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. From 2013 to 2022, she worked as a Senior Fellow at the Department of Regional Studies, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, and as a Lecturer at the Faculty of International Economy and International Affairs, National Research University – Higher School of Economics, Moscow. In 2022, she immigrated from Russia and was granted a scholarship from the Institute of International Education - Scholar Rescue Fund and Washington University in St Louis.
Her research interests include national narratives, collective memory, and guilt in Russia, the Russia-Ukraine war and its effect on Russian identity, and traditionalism in today's Russia.