The Ideas for Russia Labs internship program is designed for students who have a keen interest in researching Russia. Participants will have the opportunity to work on research projects under the mentorship of reputable experts in the field. The program started in 2024.
The main goals of this program are to help participants to:
- integrate into international scientific networks,
- gain practical research experience,
- improve employment prospects and career advancement opportunities.
This program is a key component of the Ideas for Russia initiative, launched in 2022 by the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, in partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University and the Institute of International Relations in Prague. The primary aim of the initiative is to foster a community of scholars dedicated to the study of contemporary Russia.
In 2024-2026, ten laboratories were launched as part of the program:
- IFR Authoritarian Fragility Lab
- IFR Demobilization Lab
- IFR Disinformation Lab
- IFR Displacement Lab
- IFR Ethnic Resistance Lab
- IFR Futures Lab
- IFR Illiberalism Lab
- IFR Meanings of War Lab
- IFR Nationalisms Lab
- IFR Statism Lab
- IFR-CEDAR Elites Lab
Interns for our labs are selected through a competitive process.
Mentors and interns are collaborating to develop interns’ research competencies, expand their professional networks, and strategize their career trajectories in their respective fields.
At the end of each year, the laboratories present their results at the Ideas for Russia Conference, hosted by Charles University in Prague. The project outputs are also disseminated through peer‑reviewed scientific articles, blog posts, and analytical papers.