Centre for Advanced Study Sofia
Bulgaria
fellow
Svitlana Pavlenko
2026-2027
Home institution
Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland
Country of origin (home institution)
Ukraine
Discipline(s)
Interdisciplinary Studies; Modern history; Social and economic history
Theme(s)
Globalization; Labor, Capital & Innovation; Regional Studies
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Svitlana Pavlenko is a historian specializing in Ukrainian-Japanese relations, Soviet intelligence, and transnational history. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland (2026–2027) and a former Gerda Henkel Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study in Sofia, Bulgaria (2025–2026). Svitlana is conducting research on The Holodomor in the Long-Term Observations of the Japanese Consulate in Odesa (Late 1920s–Mid-1930s) (2026–2027), supported by Cowater International in partnership with the Canada–Ukraine Foundation and Global Affairs Canada.
She received her PhD in World History from Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. Svitlana was previously a Visiting Scholar at the University of Manitoba, Canada (2022–2025), and Deputy Director of the Museum of Dnipro City History, Ukraine (2020–2024).
She is the author of more than twenty peer-reviewed publications on Japanese diplomacy and Ukrainian–Japanese relations, including articles published in Acta Slavica Iaponica, Ukrainian Historical Journal, and The World of the Orient. Her research focuses on Japanese diplomatic and consular networks in Eastern Europe, Soviet surveillance, intelligence history, and the international dimensions of the Holodomor. She is a member of the Japan Studies Association of Canada and the Scientific Society for the History of Diplomacy and International Relations (Ukraine).
Research Project
Bulgarian–Japanese Traces in the History of Ukraine: Oleksandr Raksheiev, Honorary Consul of Japan in Odesa (1892–1898)
This project explores a little-studied episode in the transnational history of Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Japan through Oleksandr Raksheiev (1856–1898), Honorary Consul of Japan in Odesa (1892–1898). It examines his activities within the broader context of the Raksheiev (Rasheev) family, a Bulgarian-origin merchant and educational network active between Odesa and Gabrovo.
Moving beyond a purely biographical approach, the study reconstructs the family as a transregional network linking commerce, education, and diplomacy. It argues that Raksheiev’s consular role was enabled by local social capital, diasporic ties, and integration into Odesa's urban elite. Particular attention is given to his involvement in promoting Japanese economic initiatives, including the 1897 Japanese exhibition in Odesa.
By combining Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Japanese sources, the project highlights the role of intermediary actors in the functioning of honorary consulates and the expansion of informal economic diplomacy in the late nineteenth century. It demonstrates that global connections were often established not only through state institutions but also through merchant families and diaspora networks, offering a new perspective on the Bulgarian–Japanese dimension of Ukrainian history.
Research Interests:
Modern history; Social history; Economic history; International relations; Diplomacy