Irina Kuznetsova is a sociologist and social geographer. She works at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Studies at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a Director of the EU Centre and the Institute for Comparative Studies of Modernity at the Kazan Federal University, Russia. She has conducted and participated in various applied and academic studies founded by regional bodies in Russia, the European Commission, the Open Society Institute, MacArthur Foundation and the Russian Foundation for Humanities. Her recent projects include ‘Asylum seekers from Eastern Ukraine in Russia: identities, policies and discourse in the context of forced migration from the Ukraine conflict’ (British Academy, 2016-2017) and ‘The everyday lives of Central Asian migrants in Moscow and Kazan in the context of Russia’s Migration 2025 Concept: from legislation to practice’ (Open Society Foundation, with John Round).