EXPERTS ADVISORY

ANN ARBOR—Ukraine’s long-anticipated presidential election is scheduled for Sunday—a vote the interim government in Kiev hopes will install a legitimate successor to Viktor Yanukovych, ousted after months of street protests.

But the poll’s legitimacy may be questioned if many voters, especially those in eastern regions that have declared independence, are unable or unwilling to cast ballots.

Experts at the University of Michigan are available to discuss the election. They include:

Pauline Jones Luong, professor of political science, is interested in newly emergent states with multiple competing subnational identities, states transitioning from planned to market economies, states rich in natural resources and states with predominantly Muslim populations. Contact: (734) 764-5207 or pjluong@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1mSxRcb

Zvi Gitelman is a political science professor and the Preston R. Tisch professor of Judaic studies. He studies ethnicity and politics, especially in former Communist countries. His most recent book is “Jewish Identities in Postcommunist Russia and Ukraine: An Uncertain Ethnicity.” Contact: (734) 763-4393 or zvigitel@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1dXwPSI

Greta Uehling is an anthropologist and lecturer in international studies. She can talk about ethnic groups in Ukraine. Uehling is working on a project examining the politics of history in southern Ukraine, focusing on how patriotism and treason are affecting the construction of a tolerant, multi-ethnic society in Crimea. Contact: uehling@umich.edu. Bio: http://bit.ly/1jOyoqT

Melvyn Levitsky, a retired American ambassador and professor of international policy and practice at U-M’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, can discuss relations between Russia and Ukraine. During his 35-year career as a U.S. diplomat, Levitsky served as officer-in-charge of U.S.-Soviet bilateral relations. He was also a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Contact: (734) 615-4262 or levitsky@umich.edu. Bio: http://fordschool.umich.edu/faculty/Melvyn_Levitsky

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