The Midwest Slavic Association ran its annual essay competition in spring 2022. Ten graduate applications were received from students at eight different universities, while five undergraduate submissions were received from five different institutions. Students were able to submit papers in different formats, from conference papers, to course papers, to dissertation chapters, to master’s theses. Submitted papers covered many different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, and different countries from the East European and Eurasian region. Papers were judged by two separate committees for the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The 2022 winners are:

• Undergraduate: Katie Frevert, Oberlin College, “'Kill the State in Yourself': Totalitarianism and the Illiberal Dissidence of Egor Letov”
• Graduate: Tamara Polyakova, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "'Past Enemy, Future Ally: Nature as Actor in the Russian Civil War”

Both students will receive a one-year membership to the Association of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). Tamara Polyakova’s essay has been submitted for consideration to the ASEEES Graduate Student Essay Prize, a national level essay competition.

Thank you to all students who submitted their essays for consideration! Co-sponsorship of the Midwest Slavic Association Student Essay Competition is provided by ASEEES.