Chiara Lovotti is a PhD candidate at the faculty of History and Cultures at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. Her academic research delves into the role and impact of the Soviet Union on the state-building processes in three postcolonial Arab countries: Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. Chiara is also an Associate Research Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Centre of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). At ISPI, her research interests are focused on socio-political transformations in the MENA, mostly Syria and Iraq; relations between Russia and the MENA countries; and Russian foreign policy towards the area. She holds a Bachelor’s in Foreign Languages from the Catholic University of Milan, a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of Louvain, and another Master’s in Middle Eastern Studies from the Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations, Milan. She has recently co-edited a Routledge book entitled “Russia in the Middle East and North Africa. Continuity and Change”.