Her Story
About Galina
Galina Bogatova serves as a professor at Butte College in Chico, California, a role she has held since 2013. Prior to this position, she worked as a visiting assistant professor at Union College and as a graduate researcher at Florida International University. Her teaching focuses on American politics, Russian politics, and comparative politics, while her research examines Russian regional politics through a post-colonial lens, framing Russia as an empire rather than solely an authoritarian state. She earned a master's degree in international relations from St. Petersburg State University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the International Banking Institute in 2011. Bogatova is the author of the book Casting War as Love, which explores Russian colonialism in familial terms and traces relevant discourse from the state's origins to the present. She maintains memberships in the International Studies Association, the Association of Slavic Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, and the American Politics Studies Association. Additionally, she founded the NGO Russian Libertus Corpus, where she now serves as vice president, supporting political asylum seekers from Russia. Her professional achievements include various fellowships, prizes, grants, travel grants, and a presidential stipend.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Galina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think the key to my success is realizing that this is not just my problem, that I'm a part of a bigger social phenomenon, a bigger social layer of women, and standing my ground is standing their ground too. It's like we're a community. Having understanding that I'm not alone in this was the key. There's a crowd behind you. You're not alone.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I got was to be proactive in networking. We are not too socialized into asking for help. You have to find a way around it and just proactively ask for favors, ask for help. The more people are investing in you, the more they value you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If a lot of people think you're a bitch, it means that you're doing something right. Get comfortable with defending themselves. You cannot make it in this field as a woman without being likable to everyone. Some people have to dislike you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The lack of funding in higher education and NGOs. The shift in value system where people are getting skeptical about intellectualism. Technological progress speed, defunding of higher education, attention span decrease, and epidemic loneliness. But loneliness also adds value as one of the few places people hang out physically together.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Equality - I like when people talk to me as an equal. Meritocracy - prefer systems built on merit rather than loyalty. Empathy - the sense of humanity helps recover from disruptions in the system.
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