Team

Head of Chair

Professor Florian Toepfl

Professor Florian Toepfl holds the Chair of Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe and the Post-Soviet Region. He is Principal Investigator of the RUSINFORM project and headed the Emmy Noether Research Group.

Office Manager

The secretary's office is currently not available.

Research Associates and PhD students

Professor Birgit Beumers

Professor Birgit Beumers is Research Associate at the Chair of Political Communication. Her research interests are in the field of film studies as well as in the field of culture and literature of Eastern Europe. Her research is funded by the DFG.

Dr. Markus Mathyl

Dr. Markus Lorenz Mathyl is a Research Associate and DAAD Stipendiary at the Chair of Political Communication. In his research, he focuses on Russian nationalism and neo-imperalism in the context of societal transformation.

Anna Ryzhova

Anna Ryzhova is a Research Associate and PhD student in the RUSINFORM project. Political communication is her main research interest. She also takes interest in audience research as well as news critical literacy and trust in media.

Arista Beseler

Arista Beseler is a Research Associate and PhD student in the RUSINFORM project. Digital communcation is her main research interest, with a focus on alternative media in Germany and audience participation.

Julia Kling

Julia Kling is a Research Associate and PhD student in the RUSINFORM project. Her research interests are in the areas of Russia’s Informational influence, as well as transnational audience research and computational methods.

Serge Poliakoff

Serge Poliakoff is a Research Associate and PhD student in the RUSINFORM project. His research interests are in the areas of Russia’s Informational influence, dis-/misinformation, propaganda, fake news and computational methods.