Dominican’s Elvira Kizilova Discusses Ukraine Crisis

Dominican University professor Elvira Kizilova joined ABC57 News to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hours after it began. Dr. Kizilova lived and worked in Ukraine for decades, including during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“The last 48 hours became a nightmare for me,” she said. “It brings all those memories from 2014 back and I’m very nervous about my friends and family who live in Ukraine.”

Dr. Kizilova is an assistant professor of marketing and international business at the Brennan School of Business at Dominican. 

She was born in Russia and moved to Ukraine at the age of 10. She lived there for three decades, working for the Ministry of Health Resorts and Tourism of Crimea. She also served as a local expert for technical assistance programs, such as USAID LINK, USAID BIZPRO, and a European Union project on Crimean tourism.

She was on the ground in Crimea during Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014 and assisted international media covering the conflict, including NPR, the BBC and BFM-TV. She left Crimea because of her active pro-Ukrainian position.

Watch her full interview.