Curriculum Vitae

My primary field of expertise is the study of modern and contemporary Western esoteric currents. Topics that I have addressed in the past include Wicca, Thelema, Theosophy, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. My current research deals primarily with the history of esoteric groups in the Soviet Union, especially during the late-Soviet period (1953 – 1991). My other interests include theoretical problems of the study of religion and esotericism such as psychological dimension of esoteric practices and historical interactions between philosophy, science, and esotericism. On a more practical level, I am interested in mechanisms of construction of ideologies, issues of freedom of religion and belief, conspiracy theories, and religious fundamentalism.

Education

2018 – Present PhD student in Religion, Rice University

• Dissertation: Seeking Spirituality in the Land of Atheism: Narrative Motifs and Cultural Functions in the Esoteric Underground of the USSR

2015 Candidate of sciences in Philosophy, Moscow State University

• Dissertation: The Doctrine of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as a Form of Western Esotericism and Religious Philosophy (in Russian)

2011 Specialist degree (with Honours) in Religious Studies, Moscow State University

Teaching

2022 Instructor of Record, Rice University

• American Metaphysical Religion (Fall 2022)

2018, 2021 Teaching Assistant, Rice University

• Religion 101 (Fall 2018, Fall 2021)
• Religious Tolerance (Spring 2021)

2016 – 2018 Visiting Lecturer, Russian Orthodox University of St. John

• New Religious Movements
• Modern Western Philosophy of Religion
• 17th–19th Centuries Philosophical Thought
• Introduction to Philosophy

2012 – 2018 Lecturer, Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia

• Introduction to Philosophy