Ian Garner’s research focuses on Russian culture and propaganda of war. He is particularly interested in combining methodologies from cultural studies, history, and political science to understand the changing impacts of communications and propaganda forms on subjects at war.

Garner completed his PhD in the Slavic Department at the University of Toronto after graduating from the University of Bristol (UK) and St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia). His first book, Stalingrad Lives: Stories of Combat & Survival (McGill-Queen’s University Press), explored the nascence and afterlife of the myth of Stalingrad as a propaganda tool both historically and under the current Russian regime. His most recent work, Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia’s Fascist Youth, charted experiences of burgeoning neo-fascist youth militarism since the year 2000, especially in light of the war in Ukraine. In his next project, tentatively titled I Killed For the Motherland, Garner seeks to chart a history of the ways in which propaganda and propagandists have (de)motivated Othered soldiers who have fought for the Russian state and to conceptualize how shifting digital landscapes may alter soldiering in the coming years.

Garner has written for media outlets including the Guardian, The Times, Foreign Policy, and The Washington Post, and makes regular appearances on global TV and radio networks including the BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and TVP World. He has worked with think tanks and policymakers in the UK, Canada, USA, Ukraine, and across Eastern Europe, and currently teaches in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University.