Polina is a third-year sociology PhD student at the University of Maryland-College Park with a primary focus on family demography. Past projects have explored contraceptive use and the cycle of inequality that develops from lack of access or knowledge to contraceptive methods. Most recent collaborative projects have explored how different welfare regimes around the world influence entry into parenthood. The interest in comparative projects and how welfare regimes affect family life have led Polina to include Russia as an area of study. The type of intersection between family and the state is unique in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia, thus making it a particularly interesting area of studies for family demography.