Ekaterina Khodzhaeva

Ekaterina Khodzhaeva, sociologist who specializes in police studies, the judiciary, and the legal profession. She has conducted extensive empirical research on criminal justice and legal practices in provincial Russia. As a Research Fellow (2024-2025) at the Nantes Institutes for Advanced Studies, she carried out a project on provincial lawyering in Russia. 

The project

Title: Between Resistance and Displacement: Russian Human Rights Lawyers in Exile

"Since Russia invaded Ukraine, many human rights lawyers have had to flee the country. This project follows their lives in exile—particularly in France—focusing on how they rebuild their identities and carry on their legal work from abroad. Through in-depth interviews, the study traces both their struggles and collective strategies. Some join NGOs or international justice efforts; others face isolation, job loss, and legal uncertainty.
France provides asylum but does not grant access to the legal profession. Without accreditation, many experienced lawyers are unable to practice. Their paths differ greatly, influenced by language skills, networks, and the timing of their exile. Still, these exiled lawyers find ways to take action, such as documenting war crimes, advising clients from afar, or creating new legal platforms. At its core, this project examines legal resistance without a state—how professionals maintain justice even when they lack formal authority."

Selective Bibliography

• Nikitina D., Gegelman A., Khodzhaeva E., Zaitseva M. (2025) Russian Forensic Medicine: Institutional Evolution, Operational Contradictions, and Their Implications in Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 1–24
• Knorre A., Kudryavtsev V., Khodzhaeva E., Runova K., Titaev K. (2024) The Lull Before the Storm? Criminal Justice, Crime and Incarceration in Russia (2000–2020). in Europe-Asia Studies, 1–24 
• Khodzhaeva E. (2023) Chapter 6. “Instrumentalizing Racism in Russian Police: Everyday Interactions between Police Officers and Migrants” in Policing race, ethnicity and culture. Ethno- graphic perspectives across Europe. Ed. Beek, Jan, Thomas Bierschenk, Annalena Kolloch, and Bernd Meyer. Manchester: Manchester University Press. P. 135-156
• Khodzhaeva E. Titaev K.  (2023)  Chapter 8. “Legal profession and education” in Foundation of Russian Law. Ed. M. Muravyeva. Hart Publ., Oxford, 2023, 173-178 , details
• Khodzhaeva E. (2023)  “When Juries come to Russian District Courts: Lay Participation Expansion and Court System Noncompliance”, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Vol 31,  2, 217-248.