Postdoctoral Research Position in Russian and Soviet History

The Higher School of Economics Center for Historical Research in St. Petersburg, the Russian Federation invites applications for postdoctoral research position in the field of Russian and Soviet history.

The job involves:

• working under the direct supervision of Professor Alexander Semyonov
• participants are encouraged to pursue their own research in parallel with taking part in the Center’s two research projects:
  • imperial histories and breakup of empires in the region of Eastern Europe and Northern Eurasia
  • comparative research on post-imperial political imaginaries in the region of Eastern Europe and Northern Eurasia 
• taking part in the work of the consortium of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, University of Eastern Finland and dedicated to exploration of Post-imperial Diversities and Majority and Minority Relations
• writing research papers for international peer-reviewed academic periodicals and contributing to collective volumes published by the research team
• teaching in the undergraduate and graduate programs of the department of history 
• presentation of their research in academic conferences and seminar “Boundaries of History” 
• participation in organization of academic events of the Center and other contribution to the development of the Center and Department of History

The Center offers access to its research resources and Richard Stites Memorial Historical Library collections.

Requirements

• a Ph. D. from an international research university in the field of History;
• a strong background in theories and historiography of empire and nationalism;  
• ability to work in a team,
• fluent English

A CV and research statement should be submitted via online application form and and two letters of recommendation should be submitted be the referees directly to iri@hse.ru by February 15, 2018. Please note that direct applications to the hiring laboratory may not be reviewed.

General Conditions

HSE offers a competitive salary, the standard medical insurance plan with a limited set of basic services and a possibility to rent a room in an HSE guesthouse. The appointment is normally made for one year starting September 2018 with the possibility of extension.

The postdoctoral fellow is expected to pursue his/her research interests under the supervision of the director of the department or the head of the project, work in close collaboration with the department’s ongoing projects. The postdoctoral fellow will be allocated a working space equipped with a computer and free internet access at HSE.

For what positions and in what disciplines is international faculty being hired by HSE?

At present, the HSE international post-doctoral recruitment programme covers various disciplines including economics and finance, management and business informatics, politics and international relations, philology and linguistics, sociology, mathematics, statistics, public policy and public administration, law, education, media, history, philosophy, psychology and other.

What criteria are applied to candidates for the postdoctoral positions?

Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in the field of application from a doctoral programme with a strong research orientation from a major international research university. All work is conducted in English, knowledge of Russian is not required. Individual research departments may have additional specifications.

Candidates can be PhD students at the time of the application but the degree must be obtained by the time the HSE contract commences.

What are the application steps and employment procedures?

An application packet for a post-doctoral position is standard and must include: a candidate’s CV, research statement; published papers, job market paper or other writing samples; at least two letters of recommendation; and if necessary, other documents as specified by individual laboratories.

A CV, research statement and two letters of recommendation should be submitted directly via online application form. Please note that direct applications to the hiring laboratory may not be reviewed.

What is the working language?

All the communications, including interviews and teaching (in case of employment at the HSE) will be held in English. Therefore fluent English is an obligatory requirement.

What is the contract term?

The contract is for one year with a possibility of renewal.

Can I apply to multiple positions at one time? 

The general rule for all the candidate is that the applicant can apply for only one announced position - in discipline in which the candidate feel more specialized and which is a priority.

With regard to the statement of research interest, how long should it be and what is the format of it?

We don’t have any special requirements to statement of research interests. It is usually written in a free-form and normally takes 1-2 pages. But can be either longer or shorter.