Laura Vassileva - Perspectives

Profile: Laura Vassileva

Laura Vassileva (she/her) is a recent graduate of Anthropology, with a background in Turkish Studies and Philosophy. Of Czech-Bulgarian origin, she has spent the past three years living between Prague and Istanbul. Her master’s research focused on student-led protests in authoritarian university spaces, with a particular emphasis on queer subjectivities within resistance.

Beyond academia, Laura writes extensively on contemporary Turkey. Her analytical essays, reportages, and literature reviews have been published in Czech media outlets such as Alarm, Ádvojka, and Voxpot. She is a co-founder of Initiative Hayde, which connects diasporas from Turkey in Prague and bridges grassroots projects from the Global South with resources in Europe. As part of the Perspectives programme, she is currently researching on the Turkish and Kurdish youth who left Turkey after the Gezi protests, exploring themes of home, nostalgia, genealogies of return, and the complexities of double assimilation.

Revue Prostor ⟶

Articles

An illustration of a white dove on beige background

July 2025

Youth in self-imposed exile I: Layers of identities and stories of leaving Turkey

The young Turkish and Kurdish diaspora in the Czech Republic is still in its infancy. How does it differ from the German one? And under what circumstances would they consider returning? First part of the series "Youth in Self-Exile".

by Laura Vassileva
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Mládí v sebe-exilu: Vrstvy identit a příběhů odchodu z Turecka (1)

July 2025

Youth in self-imposed exile II: Layers of identities and stories of departure from Turkish Kurdistan

How does ethnicity and anti-ethnic policies manifest themselves in the case of Kurds* leaving Turkey for the Czech Republic?
Second part of the series "Youth in Self-Exile".

by Laura Vassileva
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Mládí v sebe-exilu: Vrstvy identit a příběhů odchodu z tureckého Kurdistánu (2)

April 2025

Report from the protests in Hungary

The Hungarian parliament passed an amendment restricting the rights of LGBT+ people, with 140 MPs voting in favor and only 21 against. Opposition to the amendment has driven thousands of protesters into the streets of Budapest.

by Laura Vassileva and Tobiáš Wagner
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Reportáž z protestů v Budapešti

May 2025

Report from the protest Prague is feminist

A report from Saturday's protest Prague is feminist, which blocked the path of the „Movement pro Life“ parade. An evaluation of the event and a short interview were provided by Amnesty International's Activism Coordinator Žaneta Sladká.

by Laura Vassileva
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Reportáž z protestu Praha je feministická

April 2025

Report from the protests in Istanbul (Part I)

For a month now, the streets, universities, public transport and consumer markets in Istanbul and other Turkish cities have been filled with acts of civil disobedience. Under the auspices of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and with the support of hundreds of thousands of people across generations and social classes, protests have erupted, which have not only a political charge but also an undertone of a deeper existential anxiety about the state of the republic.

by Laura Vassileva
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Reportáž z protestů v Istanbulu (část 1.)

May 2025

Report from the protests in Istanbul (Part II)

Protests and opposition to the rule of current President Erdogan continue in Istanbul. How do local students, who have been at the forefront from the beginning, view the current situation?

by Laura Vassileva
first published by revue Prostor under the title
Reportáž z protestů v Istanbulu (část 2.)

Young Journalists 2025