Mikhail is a human rights activist and civil society manager. He studied theology and pedagogy before working in the publishing industry as a commercial and logistical manager, and later became involved in fundraising and management for one of Russia’s largest LGBTQ+ NGOs in St. Petersburg. Mikhail was later elected chairman of the Russian LGBT Network, and has worked as an advisor and coordinator on global projects for human rights defenders and on combatting discrimination. In 2018-2019, Mikhail was a fellow at King’s College in London researching comparative LGBT history, and was a volunteer for Amnesty International’s Russia and Eurasia Regional Office (London Secretariat). In 2023 he was nominated to the Board of the German LGBT organization LSVD ( Der Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland). Mikhail speaks Russian, English, Polish, and German.