Kristina Bekenova is a cultural historian and museum studies scholar whose research explores the intersections of heritage, politics, and identity in Central Asia. She is currently a PhD candidate in Analysis and Management of Cultural Heritage. Her doctoral project, From the Nomad to the Soviet Nation, investigates how museums in Kazakhstan participated in imperial and Soviet nation-building from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.
Kristina holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China) and a BA in International Relations from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Almaty, Kazakhstan). Prior to her doctoral studies, she was a teaching and research assistant at Nazarbayev University in Astana, contributing to the EU Horizon 2020 project European Leadership in Cultural, Science and Innovation Diplomacy (EL-CSID).
Her recent publications address themes such as the transformation of local history museums under Soviet rule, museum participation in ideological campaigns, and debates around the global redefinition of museums. Her latest work has appeared in Museum History Journal andTransfer: Journal for Provenance Research, among others. Kristina has presented her research at public events and academic conferences in Tashkent, Semey, Almaty, as well as in Italy, France, and the UK, contributing to international dialogues on postcolonial heritage, museum politics, and cultural memory in Central Asia. She is a member of several international research networks, including The Museum as a National Narrative in Central Asia (CNRS, France) and Curating in Times of Crisis (Sweden).
Full list of publications is available here.