Of Russian nationality, Lina Kolesnikova is a Brussels-based independent researcher and specialist in crisis management and conflict prevention.

Educated at Novosibirsk State University, Lina has studied at Wurzburg and Leicester Universities, and has a postgraduate degree from Amsterdam University’s School of International Relations. She also holds certificates from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on peacekeeping and international conflict resolution, global terrorism, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, international humanitarian law, and negotiation of financial transactions.

Lina currently advises and speaks on risk, crisis and disaster management, political leadership and international negotiations, conflict prevention, and crisis management at the institutional level. Her intercultural expertise focuses on the impact of national styles and characteristics on the negotiating process.

Lina Kolesnikova has researched and written on a wide range of topical issues arising from recent events on the global scene, and is a frequent speaker and moderator at international meetings. She speaks fluent English in addition to her native Russian.

Proposed themes

• Managing the uncertain: risk, crisis, conflict
• Culture in international politics
• Events in Russia’s ‘near abroad’: Ukraine, Moldova, Chechnya, Belarus
• Immigration and refugee protection
• Pawns in a global game: the independent states of Central Asia
• Explaining the European Union’s Neighbourhood Policy.