I received my Ph.D. in Russian Literature from Moscow State University (1989.) In 1989-1995 I worked in the Institute of World Literature (IMLI) of the Russian Academy of Science. Since 1995 I taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Cornell University and Wesleyan University . I published about 60 articles in Russian, American, British, German, and French journals and collections. My book Mikhail Gershenzon: ego zhizn' i mif (1998) covers my study of Russian Modernism and intellectual trends of the first decades of the 20th century. Last year I was a Regional Fellow of Davis Center of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University . Currently I am completing a new book Eros of Power: Political Mythology and Russian Culture in the Age of Catherine the Great. I am investigating interactions of politics, poetry, royal ceremonies, and arts in eighteenth century Russia . I love parties, classical music, and travels.