Lesia Rudnik is no longer director of the Center for New Ideas. Henadz Korshunau leaves the organization

Center for New Ideas. Photo: newbelarus.vision

The research Center for New Ideas (CNI) welcomes the New Year with significant changes: Lesia Rudnik is stepping down as the director of the center, and senior researcher, sociologist Henadz Korshunau is also leaving the institution.

"There will be no new person in the position of director"

In a comment for "Nasha Niva," Lesia Rudnik stated that she is leaving the position of the center's director and stepping away from the operational management of the institution. However, she remains a member of the CNI board, which, in addition to her, includes Ryhor Astapenia and Anton Radniankou.

Павялічыць

Lesia Rudnik. Photo: newbelarus.vision

"I made this decision because I want to devote more time to my academic career in Sweden. After defending my doctoral thesis and receiving a PhD in Political Science in September 2025, I decided to continue on the academic path," says Lesia Rudnik.

She recently received a grant from the Swedish Research Council to conduct her own research. Lesia Rudnik will now work at Södertörn University (Sweden) and partly at Maastricht University (Netherlands).

"My project was one of nine supported across all of Sweden in social sciences. I will be studying the regulation of Big Tech and AI in the European Union and several authoritarian countries," our interlocutor added.

At the same time, Lesia Rudnik's story with the Center for New Ideas is not ending. She will participate in the strategic development of the organization, remains the head of the CNI women fellowship project, and will periodically join the team's research work. The management of CNI will now follow a slightly different internal scheme, but no new person will be appointed to the director's position. Most of the main faces of the center will remain the same, with several new people becoming more public.

"A lot has happened during my time at CNI. The organization has strengthened, grown larger; we conducted and will continue to conduct important research and educational programs. I am personally very happy with how we organized our processes, culture, strengthened research ethics, and developed as an academic team over the past year. I am especially proud that we launched the CNI Women fellowship program.

My time at CNI as director was a very important step for my growth, and I hope for the growth of the organization as well. I am grateful to my colleagues for these years, for the inspiration, and for being an excellent team," Lesia Rudnik summarized.

"I hope this is not a final verdict"

Senior researcher Henadz Korshunau, former director of the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, announced his departure from the Center for New Ideas on Facebook.

Павялічыць

Henadz Korshunau. Photo: "Nasha Niva"

"And now the time has come for another career change. My long and very fruitful collaboration with the Center for New Ideas has temporarily come to an end. I sincerely thank my colleagues for their cooperation! It seems that together we have carried out many interesting and useful projects: on collective trauma, the repression barometer, the Belarusian diaspora, the resilience index, and many others," the sociologist wrote.

In a conversation with "Nasha Niva," Henadz Korshunau clarified that the project he had been working on for the past year has ended, and with it, the stage of his close cooperation with CNI.

"But I hope this is not a final verdict, and given the opportunity, we will cooperate with CNI again," he emphasized.

The Center for New Ideas is a Belarusian independent analytical center that has been operating since 2012. The organization was founded by Ryhor Astapenia and Anton Radniankou as a platform for in-depth analysis of socio-political processes and understanding possible paths for Belarus's development.

The center works in three directions: involving society in discussions of reforms and public discourse, conducting independent research, and supporting and developing new leaders.

In March 2025, the Belarusian authorities declared the Center for New Ideas an extremist formation, and its internet pages — extremist materials.

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