I graduated from St. Petersburg University in 1984 and obtained a Ph.D. in entomology in 1986. From 1984–1991, I was employed by the All-Union Institute of Plant Protection in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since 1991, I have worked at the University of Turku, Finland.

Insects are my favourite study objects. I started as an entomologist working on the morphology and systematics of archaic moths, but then extended my interest to insect ecology. My environmental research addresses the impacts of industrial pollution on terrestrial biota; my current focus is on macroecology and global change impacts on trophic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly belowground.