William Layton, originally from downstate Illinois, is a master’s student in the Davis Center’s REECA program. His research explores the role of imperial Russian and Soviet legacies in identity formation, cultural construction, and state-building in contemporary Ukraine and Russia. Inspired by a semester abroad in Almaty, Kazakhstan, he also holds an interest in broader patterns of national self-conception across the post-communist states of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. William graduated with high distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of Virginia in 2025, where he studied history and Russian language and literature. Upon his graduation, William received the Hammond Prize for outstanding work in Russian, Soviet, or Eastern European history for his undergraduate thesis, as well as formal recognition for his contributions to the university’s Slavic Department.