My project deals with the impact of the cross-border cultural/ethnic ties and contested character of the Ukrainian SSR and the Moldovan ASSR on the Soviet borderland policies in the respective republics and the discussions and decisions, which took place during the elaboration, implementation and analysis of the policies. I analyze the borderland policies as the result of the interaction of the ambitions, actions, and political views of a number of actors on both sides of the Soviet border. These include Soviet party activists, major cultural figures, pro-Soviet politicians and intellectuals in Romania and Poland, and also Romanian and Polish political and state figures, who influenced the Soviets with the activities of their own. My project relies on the methods of the entangled history and comparative history.

A full-length study is available here.