Our team


dhr. prof. dr. J.S.A.M. (Hans) van Koningsbrugge
Director

E-mail

+31 50 363 7249

Prof. dr. J.S.A.M. (Hans) van Koningsbrugge is the director of the NRCe as well as the Centre for Russian Studies, which is also affiliated with the University of Groningen. Since 2000, he has been researching Dutch cultural heritage in Russian libraries and archives on behalf of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, Culture and Sciences (OCW). Furthermore, he is specialised in political and economic analyses on present-day Russia, in the context of the education provided by the Clingendael Institute.


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dhr. drs. G.W.M. (Marcel) Stoeten
Staff member (Secretary)

E-mail

+31 50 363 7823

Expertises: Russian expert and slavist. Professional activity: Secretary of the Netherlands-Russia Centre.


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mevr. dr. E. (Elka) Agoston-Nikolova
Staff member

E-mail

+31 50 363 7823

Expertises: Southern-Slavic Languages and Cultures. Professional activities: specialist in research on ethnic and cultural identity in the Balkans. She also gives courses about the history and culture of the Balkans.


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dhr. dr. T. (Tjeerd) de Graaf
Staff member

E-mail

+31 50 363 7823

Voor meer informatie, zie ook de website van het Mercator Centrum

Since a Japanese expedition to the island Sakhalin in 1990, Tjeerd de Graaf has been involved as a coordinator in projects concerning the study of endangered languages and the reconstruction of sound archives in the Russian Federation. For this work, he received an honorary doctorate in 1998 from the University of St. Petersburg, where he stayed several times as a visiting professor. He is currently an employee of the Centre for Russian Studies, the Netherlands-Russia Centre, the Mercator Centrum of the Fryske Akademy, a board member of the Kulturstiftung Sibirien and the Foundation for Endangered Languages.


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mr. dr. N.A. (Nicolaas) Kraft van Ermel
Scientific Staff Member

E-mail

+31 50 363 7820

Home page


Employee page at University of Groningen

Nicolaas A. Kraft van Ermel is a historian specialized in the contemporary history of Russia, Ukraine and Poland. In 2020 he defended his PhD thesis On the Crossroads of History. Politics of history in Ukraine and questions of Identity in Post-Cold War Europe (1991-2019). At the Netherlands-Russia centre he is employed as an instructor and at the publishing house. 


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dhr. drs. R.G. (Robert-Jan) Makkinga
Head Business Development

E-mail

+31 50 363 7249

Robert-Jan Makkinga is an expert on contemporary Russian history and politics. During his studies, he also specialised in the concept of the learning organisation and learning histories. At the moment, he is completing his master's degree in International Political Economy, where he focuses on monetary and financial policy of central banks and governments. He is involved in the Netherlands-Russia Centre as a business consultant, supervises and supports projects, such as youth as a driver for museum

 


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dhr. R.H.T. (Ruben) Mekkering
Stagiair

E-mail

+31 50 363 7249
 
Ruben Mekkering is a History student at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. During this program he has centered around research on Russian and Eastern-European history. He currently works as an intern for the Netherlands Russia Centre. In this function he is responsible for contacting Dutch companies who are interested in investing in (neighbour countries of) Russia.

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