Webinar Recording now available - Women and Illicit Finance in Russia’s Occupation of Ukraine - Dr Orly Stern and Olivia Allison

The recording of Dr Orly Stern and Olivia Allison’s for a webinar examining the gendered dynamics of Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories is now available for download here .

They considered how women participate in – and are harmed by – the illicit financial flows (IFF) underpinning the occupation economy.

While conventional analyses tends to foreground military actors and elite male networks, the session looked at the often‑overlooked roles women played.

The speakers explored how women are embedded across mid‑ and lower‑level administrative, judicial, and civil service structures that facilitate property seizures, business expropriations, and corrupt reconstruction schemes. They discussed how these patterns reflected wider gender norms in both Russia and Ukraine.

They outlined a more nuanced and context‑sensitive framework for understanding women’s roles under occupation, distinguishing between enablers of illicit systems and individuals navigating survival in coercive environments.