MIRS-Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies Student
About
Liza Jariashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and developed an early interest in the political and cultural dynamics of the post-Soviet space. She graduated from Washington and Lee University in May 2026 with a double major in global politics and East European and Russian studies. Her academic work focuses on regional security and democratization in the former Soviet Union, combining a strong grounding in political theory with area-specific expertise in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus. Drawing on her personal background and academic training, Liza is particularly interested in the geopolitics of the South Caucasus and the region's relationship with both Russia and the West. She will be pursuing a graduate degree in international and regional politics at the University of Michigan, with a concentration in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Liza is a native speaker of both Georgian and Russian, and she has long been drawn to the study of languages more broadly. This interest has shaped her academic and personal life, fueling a curiosity about how language connects to culture, identity, and politics in the regions she studies.
