Volha Biziukova is a social and political anthropologist. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St. Andrews. Before joining the University of St. Andrews, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University and Central European University, and a junior visiting fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM). She received her PhD at the University of Vienna. Her work explores the themes of state-citizen relations, agency, displacement, and political participation with a focus on Eastern Europe.  

Volha's ongoing research explores the process of return of displaced Ukrainians from EU countries and its implications for recovery and reconstruction. The project further investigates how these processes serve as the medium for reenvisaging the Ukrainian state project and the renegotiation of citizenship. Considering the expected end to temporary protection, both the Ukrainian state and EU countries have been advancing projects and frameworks to structure and shape the process of return. Meanwhile, the process of spontaneous return of citizens has been underway since 2022, with more than 1.4 million people returning, according to available estimates. The project explores the trajectories and experiences of returnees as they navigate the changing conditions defined by overlapping war-caused crises and societal differences in their specific local articulations. It traces how this process of return is envisaged and shaped by state and non-state actors, including grassroots initiatives and NGOs, and how returnees themselves come to be part of civic activities and engage in political participation along with other citizens. By this means, the research analyses how the return is linked to the reenvisaging and transformation of the state-citizen relationship and political engagement. The research is part of the project "Times of Polycrisis in the UK & Europe" (University of St. Andrews) that explores the overlapping crises of migration, conflict, economy, energy, and climate across different regions, and the ways they are understood as part of the "polycrisis" condition.

During her research residency at the Center for Urban History, Volha plans to conduct periodic field research in Ukraine, particularly in Lviv. During these research trips, it is important for the researcher to both collect ethnographic material and have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers working on related topics at Ukrainian institutions.