Kostas Zivas

I am a fifth-year PhD Candidate with a focus on Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire. My research concentrates on the legal and economic transformations that took place in the Russian-held territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Age of Revolution. In my dissertation I examine the role of debt in the sovereign relationship between the Russian Empire and the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under its control, from the 1770s to 1830. I study how Russian imperial policies and war reshaped credit networks and how imperial officials, nobles, and merchants grappled with new law and ideas about property.

Prior to joining Yale, I graduated with a BA in International, European, and Area Studies from Panteion University in Athens, Greece and an MPhil in International Relations and Politics at the University of Cambridge. At Yale I have taught courses on the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire and have been co-chair of the Modern Europe Colloquium.

My research has been supported through the MacMillan International Dissertation Research Fellowship and the Keggi-Berzins Fellowship for Baltic Studies. I am affiliated with the Department of History at the University of Warsaw. 

Prospective PhD students are welcome to reach out with questions about the program.