Darina Zhunussova is from Kazakhstan, Saumalkol. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Nazarbayev University. Darina worked as a Research Assistant at the largest COVID-related policies database worldwide, the CoronaNet Research Project. She studied immigration control in Eurasia and environmental migration in Kazakhstan. Her research interests at Georgetown include Russian and Central Asian politics of immigration control and demography, authoritarian legitimization and nationalism.