Robert F. Byrnes
Russian and East European Institute

Dear members of the REEI community,

It is wonderful to be back serving as REEI Director after a sabbatical during 2019/20. I missed our community and have relished catching up with you all this semester. I am tremendously grateful to the REEI senior staff—Mark Trotter, Elliott Nowacky, and Clare Angeroth-Franks—for all your expertise and hard work. And I extend a special thank-you to Prof. Halina Goldberg, who so generously and ably steered the REEI ship as Interim Director during 2019/20 so I could engage in research and writing. Halina, Dziękuję, Dziękuję, Dziękuję!!!

As we all continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am more grateful than ever for the energy, passion, and grace that everyone in the REEI community brings each and every day to the work of scholarship, teaching, and learning about the Russian and East European region. Thanks to the dedication of REEI affiliates, alumni, and staff, it has truly been an exceptional, “never a dull moment” fall 2020 semester. Together, we have managed to overcome social “distancing” and creatively harness the necessary use of novel platforms (i.e. zoom) to create new formats and outlets for scholarship, research presentation, and virtual seminars and conferences. Thank you for helping us all stay connected and engaged in the important work of advancing knowledge about Russia and Eastern Europe during these critical times.

In this issue of REEIfication you can read about the achievements of REEI-affiliated colleagues near and far. From Astana to Belgrade, from Sarajevo to Wrocław, from Saint Petersburg to Bridgewater, from Moscow to Radford, and from Antwerp to Washington, D.C., REEI alumni are making their mark all over the world. Our affiliate faculty and students conduct research from Cherkassy to Almaty, from Budapest to Buryatia, from Lodz to Bucharest, from New York City to Gdansk, and everywhere in between. We hope the engaging stories in this issue will inspire you to reach out to fellow REEI affiliates, to make new connections and perhaps to renew old ones. If you would like to contact anyone in the REEI community, and need their contact information, please be in touch with us at REEI@indiana.edu and we’ll be happy to help.

Happy Holidays and all best wishes for 2021!