Elina Nikolskaya
Education
Ph.D. in Communication Studies (in progress)
Ohio University, Scripps College of Communication (2024–present)
Candidate of Philological Sciences (Ph.D. equivalent)
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Journalism (2017)
Dissertation: Development and Current State of the Television News Magazine Format
Specialist Degree in Journalism (equivalent to combined B.A. and M.A.)
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Journalism (2013)
Thesis: Development of the News Magazine Format on American Television ("60 Minutes" and "Dateline" Programs)
Bachelor of Law
Saratov State Law Academy (2014)
Bio
Elina Nikolskaya is a PhD student in Communication Studies at Ohio University. She holds a Candidate of Sciences degree (Ph.D. equivalent) in Philology from Lomonosov Moscow State University. Her research examines authoritarian communication, propaganda, and media practices, with a regional focus on Russia and post-Soviet contexts. She is particularly interested in how media systems shape identity, social conflict, and everyday experiences under authoritarianism.
Her work has been published in journals such as Communication and Democracy and World of Media. She has presented at national and international conferences, including the National Communication Association and the Rhetoric Society of America.
Research Interests
Authoritarian communication
Propaganda and media systems
Media and identity
Social conflict and digital media
Post-Soviet media and society
Ethnography and qualitative methods
Publications
Nikolskaya, Elina. 2026. "Living with Propaganda: Authoritarian Communication in Putin’s Russia." Communication and Democracy. https://doi.org/10.1080/27671127.2026.2645019
Nikolskaya, Elina, and Krasheninnikova, Maria. 2022. "Traditional Media and Social Media: Dialectics of Social Conflicts (2021–2022)." Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Series 10: Journalism / Bulletin of Moscow State University. Series 10: Journalism, no. 5: 103–135. https://doi.org/10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2022.102128
Chobanyan, Karine, and Elina Nikolskaya. 2022. "Testing the Waters: TikTok’s Potential for Television News." World of Media: Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies 3 (3): 62–88. https://doi.org/10.30547/worldofmedia.3.2021.3
Presentations and Awards
Presented at the 111th Annual Convention of the National Communication Association (2025) — Top Paper Award
Presented at the Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America (2026)
Student Enhancement Award, Ohio University Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity ($5,800)
Top Graduate Poster Award, Ohio Communication Association (2025)