Brendan McElmeel focuses on Soviet and Russian history, modern Europe, and the comparative history of gender and sexuality. McElmeel is particularly interested in the intersection of social history and the history of ideas, how historically varying ideas and ideologies affect (and are affected by) those parts of the human experience that are often taken for granted as timeless or apolitical, such as sexuality, love, gender identity, and everyday life. McElmeel is currently working on a history of sexual morality and intimate life in the USSR from the 1950s to the 1970s.