Daria Dimke received her master’s degree in Anthropology from European University at St. Petersburg in 2006. Her research focuses on the anthropology of childhood. She has studied childhood from a cross-cultural perspective comparing the image of children, educational technologies, and child’s play in various twentieth century cultures. Her studies culminated in the publication of several articles and a book titled Unforgettable Future: Soviet Pedagogical Utopia of 1960 released in 2018.

After her master’s program, she continued her work at the European University, contributing significantly to research projects at the Res Publica research center. She studied local governance and urban activism while working on research projects and applied anthropology initiatives. She developed methods for involving citizens in the distribution of the municipal budget. Subsequently she published Participatory Budgeting: How to Involve Citizens in Public Governance (with Lev Shilov, 2016).

Her teaching portfolio includes courses in anthropology and Soviet history. In addition to her research, she has written two fiction books and published several columns in Russian newspapers.

Currently she is working on a project with George Washington University, focusing on the Russian diaspora in the United States.

Daria is utilizing eHRAF World Cultures for the cross-cultural study of children’s play. She also seeks to understand how anthropological theory has developed as a way of thinking, imagining, and analyzing cultures and societies.

In her leisure time, she enjoys writing stories and travelogues, organizing excursions to art galleries for children, and participating in amateur performances. She enjoys creating and implementing activities with local residents that improve life in the city and to strengthen the local community.