Sufian N Zhemukhov
Sufian N. Zhemukhov is a Senior Research Associate at The George Washington University (GW). His recent books include, Mass Religious Ritual and Intergroup Tolerance: The Muslim Pilgrims' Paradox (Cambridge University Press; co-author Mikhail A. Alexseev) and Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia (Routledge; co-author Robert W. Orttung). Institute of International Education titled Zhemukhov as a Featured Scholar, in 2016.
Biography
Sufian N. Zhemukhov is a Senior Research Associate at The George Washington University (GW). His recent books include, Mass Religious Ritual and Intergroup Tolerance: The Muslim Pilgrims' Paradox (Cambridge University Press; co-author Mikhail A. Alexseev) and Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia (Routledge; co-author Robert W. Orttung). Institute of International Education titled Zhemukhov as a Featured Scholar, in 2016.Education
-
PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academ
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
-
Political science, History, Russia's North Caucasus, Islam, nationalism, ethnic studies, conflict resolution
Personal Interests
-
Music, Literature, Creative non-fiction, bicycling.
Websites
Featured Scholar, US Institute of International Education
Sufian N. Zhemukhov, George Washington University
Two guys discussing Russia over pastries
Books
Articles
The movement toward a monolingual nation in Russia: The language policy
Published: Sep 13, 2016 by Journal of Caucasian Studies
Authors: Şener Aktürk and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
In the context of an institutionalized multi-nationalist ideology, the language policyin Russia is based on the distinction of the native language of Russian people and the languages of all other non-Russians.
From Mecca with tolerance: Religion, social recategorisation and social capital
Published: Jun 03, 2015 by Religion, State and Society
Authors: Mikhail A. Alexseev and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
Subjects:
Religion
Does participation in mass religious rituals promote intergroup conflict or does it promote intergroup tolerance? We assess these claims by examining the effects of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj) on sociopolitical views of Muslims in Russia’s North Caucasus. Participant observation during the hajj and a quasi-experimental focus group study of pilgrims and non-pilgrims produced paradoxical findings.
Munich syndrome: Russian security in the 2014 Sochi Olympics
Published: Dec 05, 2014 by Problems of post-Communism
Authors: Robert W. Orttung and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
To address military and terrorist threats surrounding the Sochi Olympics, the Kremlin has revised its security plan twice, raising questions about state agencies' ability to coordinate their actions and about the impact on civil society.
Ethnic and state sports in the context of the 2014 Sochi Olympics
Published: Mar 24, 2014 by National Identities
Authors: Sufian N. Zhemukhov
This article examines the emergence and transformation of ethnic sport projects in the North Caucasus in connection with the 2014 Sochi Olympics. It charts the history and progress of two projects known as the Circassiada and the Caucasus Games and evaluates the debate of the sport-nation nexus in the North Caucasus.
The 2014 Sochi Olympic mega-project and Russia's political economy
Published: Feb 05, 2014 by East European Politics
Authors: Robert W. Orttung and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
This article examines Russia's political economy through the prism of mega-projects, using the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as a case study. Such projects help Russia's leaders promote the country's image abroad, define development priorities for Russia's urban landscape, and gain support for the incumbent regime.
Making and breaking the political machine in Kabardino-Balkaria
Published: Oct 08, 2013 by Demokratizatsiya
Authors: Georgi M. Derluguian and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
Three very different forces are contesting social powers in the North Caucasus republics: the ex-nomenklatura from the 1980s; political capitalists or" oligarchs" in the 1990s; and the social movement of young Islamist zealots in the 2000s.
Dancing the nation in the North Caucasus
Published: Jun 04, 2013 by Slavic Review
Authors: Charles King and Sufian N. Zhemukhov
his article examine the emergence and transformation of a communal dance form known as adyge jegu (roughly, “Circassian festival“) in the Russian republics of Adygeia, Karachaevo-Cherkesia, and Kabardino-Balkaria.
The birth of modern Circassian nationalism
Published: Apr 18, 2012 by Nationalities Papers
Authors: Sufian N. Zhemukhov
This article focuses on problems of the national movement of the Circassians – a small nation in the Caucasus, most of whose population is dispersed all over the world. The paper researches the development of the Circassian movement from 1989–2000 and its contemporary structure since 2005.
One thousand years of Islam in Kabarda: An experiment in periodization
Published: Jan 10, 2012 by Anthropology and Archeology of Eurasia
Authors: Sufian N. Zhemukhov
The article describes the periodization of Islam in Kabarda (and among Circassians of the North Caucasus) in thirteen stages, beginning with initial proseletyzing by Arabs in the eleventh-thirteenth centuries among the Cherkess. Focus is on degrees of practice of the "pillars of Islam" at the various stages, with key religious figures in each period named.
News
Putin’s Olympics roundtable at Indiana University, June 15, 2017
By: Sufian N Zhemukhov
Book presentationat School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, June 15, 2017 - Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia.
Putin’s Olympics roundtable at ASN World Convention, Columbia University, May 5
By: Sufian N Zhemukhov
Book roundtable at ASN World Convention, Columbia University, New York, NY, May 5, 2017 - Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia.
Putin’s Olympics roundtable at Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, April 7
By: Sufian N Zhemukhov
Book roundtable at Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, Alexandria, VA, April 7, 2017 - Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia
Putin’s Olympics roundtable at New York University, April 1, 2017
By: Sufian N Zhemukhov
Book roundtable at North East Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Conference, New York University, New York, NY, April 1,2017 - Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia.
Putin’s Olympics book launch at George Washington University, March 22, 2017
By: Sufian N Zhemukhov
Book launch at the George Washington University, Washington, DC, March 22, 2017 - Putin’s Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia, Routledge, 2017.
Videos
Published: Oct 10, 2016
Professor Robert Orttung and Research Associate Sufian Zhemukhov take us to Russia in this episode of the Presidential Inbox. What is the U.S.’s relationship going to be like with Russian President Putin and Russia as a whole if either presidential candidate is elected?
Published: Aug 09, 2016
Despite the scandal that caused more than 100 Russian Olympic athletes to get banned from competing in the Rio Games, visiting scholar Sufian Zhemukhov says things probably won't change, as the doping culture in Russia runs deeper than 2016.
Published: Dec 04, 2014
While the US and its allies work to pull together a military strategy to defeat ISIS, Russia seems to be standing on the sidelines. Part of the answer lies in Moscow’s global isolation for actions against Ukraine. But is President Vladimir Putin playing a different game? And for what reasons?
Published: Feb 28, 2014
Despite minor glitches, the Sochi Olympics started and ended with great acclaim. While the athletes competed, the analysts looked for signs of how Russia performed outside the arena. Interview with Sufian Zhemukhov and Martin Muller.
Published: Mar 23, 2017
Book launch, Putin's Olympics: The Sochi Games and the Evolution of Twenty-First Century Russia. During the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the Kremlin conducted the policy of silencing of domestic issues, including problems of Circassian genocide as well as Chechen and Ingush deportation.