About me
I am a sociologist, writer, and educator interested in cities and politics.
In September 2023, I joined the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science at Utrecht University as an Assistant Professor.
I defended my Ph.D. dissertation “Engaging Neighbors: Housing Strategies and Political Mobilization in Moscow's Renovation” at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. My work has been featured in sociological journals such as Social Problems, Sociology, City and Community, and others. In 2022, I published a co-authored book “Gains and Losses: How Protestors Win and Lose” (Oxford University Press).
I also enjoy interviewing authors about their new books for the New Book Network podcast: check out these conversations in my NBN host profile
New Book: "Private Life, Public Action How Housing Politics Mobilized Citizens in Moscow"
Forthcoming Fall 2025, Temple University Press. More info and preorder here
Renovation, an urban renewal plan in Moscow that was announced in the spring of 2017, proposed to demolish thousands of socialist-era apartment buildings. In a country where it is rare under an authoritarian government, residents supported or opposed the redevelopment by mobilizing and organizing into local alliances. They were often shocked by their neighbors who were excited about the new housing or those suspicious of being displaced.
Private Life, Public Action traces how residents impacted by the relocation plan became activists despite having little to no experience organizing or even forming political affiliations and opinions. Author Anna Zhelnina details the ways in which neighbors engaged in collective action, as well as the individual and structural changes these interactions caused.
Zhelnina develops the concept of “housing strategies” to explain how residents’ debates with their neighbors about housing were shaped by their private life strategies. She applies her findings about housing in Moscow to ongoing questions about political mobilization, demonstrating how public engagement is shaped by historical and social contexts.
Examining the intersection of housing, politics, and citizenship in contemporary Russia, Private Life, Public Action offers a new way to look at urban change.
how to pronounce my name
Zhelnina?
That’s a tricky one! In Russian, желна́ [ʐel-nah], is one of the names for the black woodpecker, Dryocopus Martius. One of my ancestors, probably, was either very talkative or persistent, that’s why he got the nickname (pure speculation here!). All his offspring were referred to as “zhelnin,” meaning “of Zhelna.”
Zhelnina?
[ʐel-nee-nah]
The emphasis is on the first syllable; the first letter sounds something like the middle in “leisure” or “vision.” The rest of the syllables sound like the name “Nina,” but without emphasis.
📷Author: Steffen Hannert – http://www.vogelruf.de/galerie/, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.