RWA Scholarship for arbitration rising stars
In 2021, RWA established a scholarship for arbitration rising stars, supported by international and Russian law firms.
The aim of the programme is to promote gender equality and support the leadership of young women in the field of international arbitration. The programme is designed to support young female arbitration practitioners and female students who strive to develop professionally in international arbitration.
The scholarship is intended to cover expenses related to education, research, and other academic or professional activities, including participation in arbitration schools and professional training programmes.
The aim of the programme is to promote gender equality and support the leadership of young women in the field of international arbitration. The programme is designed to support young female arbitration practitioners and female students who strive to develop professionally in international arbitration.
The scholarship is intended to cover expenses related to education, research, and other academic or professional activities, including participation in arbitration schools and professional training programmes.
In 2025, RWA is launching a long-awaited new round of its scholarship programme for arbitration rising stars. This round is supported by the law firms Kucher Kuleshov Maximenko & Partners (KKMP) and Lansky, Ganzger, Goeth & Partner (LGP).
600,000 rubles.
The number of recipients and the amount of each scholarship will be determined by KKMP, LGP, and RWA based on the evaluation of applicants.
The number of recipients and the amount of each scholarship will be determined by KKMP, LGP, and RWA based on the evaluation of applicants.
Female students, postgraduate students, or young practicing lawyers under the age of 30 (inclusive) who demonstrate a genuine interest in developing a career in international arbitration, with either Russian or foreign citizenship.
To apply, please fill in an application form below and submit:
- a CV in Russian (including information about education, work experience, and any additional activities);
- a motivation letter (up to 700 words) in Russian, explaining their interest in international arbitration and how the scholarship would help to achieve her arbitration-related goals (including ideas on how the funds might be used);
- a mini-research paper (up to 25,000 characters with spaces) in Russian on any relevant topic related to diversity in arbitration, presenting the applicant’s vision for how greater progress can be achieved in this area. The work must be original and not previously published.
Applications must be submitted by July 31, 2025.
Winners will be announced in fall 2025.
Winners will be announced in fall 2025.
We received 15 applications from young professionals and students – both current and prospective – including applicants preparing to enter top law schools. The submissions stood out for their research depth, pragmatic focus on advancing gender and other forms of diversity in arbitration, and the creativity of their proposed initiatives.
The 2025 RWA Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Starts was awarded to Kseniia Kuritcyna (LL.M. Candidate in International Dispute Resolution, MIDS Geneva, 2025–2026) and Veronika Gorenitsa (LL.M. Candidate in International Arbitration and Dispute Settlement, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2025–2026).
Kseniia explored the challenges faced by female advocates admitted to the Bar in Russia, including the lack of social guarantees upon maternity, the need to balance professional and personal roles, and the persistence of gender stereotypes.
Veronika proposed measures to empower emerging arbitrators: from developing capacity-building initiatives and using AI to expanding candidate pools, enhancing transparency and establishing criteria for institutional appointments.
We would also like to mention the research paper of Ella Wolf (4th-year student, Ural State Law University named after V.F. Yakovlev, Yekaterinburg), who analysed unconscious bias in international arbitration and its impact on stereotypes based on religion, nationality, culture, and gender.
The 2025 RWA Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Starts was awarded to Kseniia Kuritcyna (LL.M. Candidate in International Dispute Resolution, MIDS Geneva, 2025–2026) and Veronika Gorenitsa (LL.M. Candidate in International Arbitration and Dispute Settlement, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2025–2026).
Kseniia explored the challenges faced by female advocates admitted to the Bar in Russia, including the lack of social guarantees upon maternity, the need to balance professional and personal roles, and the persistence of gender stereotypes.
Veronika proposed measures to empower emerging arbitrators: from developing capacity-building initiatives and using AI to expanding candidate pools, enhancing transparency and establishing criteria for institutional appointments.
We would also like to mention the research paper of Ella Wolf (4th-year student, Ural State Law University named after V.F. Yakovlev, Yekaterinburg), who analysed unconscious bias in international arbitration and its impact on stereotypes based on religion, nationality, culture, and gender.
Winners
On 8 October 2025, participants of the RWA Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Stars gathered in Moscow for a special event organised by the RWA, with support of Kucher Kuleshov Maximenko & Partners (KKMP) and Lansky, Ganzger, Goeth & Partner (LGP). Mentors and Mentees from all three cycles of the RWA Mentoring Programme were also invited to join.
During the event, we congratulated Kseniia Kuritcyna and Veronika Gorenitsa on awarding the RWA Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Stars. Both of them expressed their intention to continue developing their research and exploring its practical application.
During the meeting, the RWA had the pleasure of hosting a discussion with Alyona Kucher, Senior Partner at KKMP, and Anna Zeitlinger, Managing Partner at LGP. Alyona shared her experience balancing multiple roles as a name partner, university lecturer and mother, while Anna spoke about her international legal practice and offered valuable advice on building and maintaining professional relationships. The discussion was moderated by Natalia Andreeva and Elena Burova, members of the RWA Steering Committee.
We are sincerely grateful to KKMP and LGP for supporting this meaningful and inspiring gathering.
During the event, we congratulated Kseniia Kuritcyna and Veronika Gorenitsa on awarding the RWA Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Stars. Both of them expressed their intention to continue developing their research and exploring its practical application.
During the meeting, the RWA had the pleasure of hosting a discussion with Alyona Kucher, Senior Partner at KKMP, and Anna Zeitlinger, Managing Partner at LGP. Alyona shared her experience balancing multiple roles as a name partner, university lecturer and mother, while Anna spoke about her international legal practice and offered valuable advice on building and maintaining professional relationships. The discussion was moderated by Natalia Andreeva and Elena Burova, members of the RWA Steering Committee.
We are sincerely grateful to KKMP and LGP for supporting this meaningful and inspiring gathering.
Сelebratory Event
In 2021, RWA and Osborne Clarke LLP (London) joined together to establish a scholarship to recognize and support the talent of young female arbitration practitioners and students from Russia who strive to develop professionally in international arbitration.
The scholarship amounted to £1,000 towards the costs of education, research or any other activity supporting academic or professional development.
The scholarship amounted to £1,000 towards the costs of education, research or any other activity supporting academic or professional development.
We were highly impressed by the quality of the applications and the background of our applicants, which made the selection process difficult. However, this only reassured our vision that the next generation of arbitration practitioners will shift the paradigm towards establishing a gender balance within the arbitration community.
The winner of the Scholarship for Arbitration Rising Stars 2021 was Victoria Gladysheva. Three excellent runner-up applications from Arina Akulina, Ekaterina Baliuk and Natalia Andreeva also deserved a special mention for their thoroughness, creativity and innovation.
We encourage everyone to look at the essays as they provide interesting practical ideas on the ways to increase diversity in arbitration for various arbitration stakeholders. From our side, we will take those ideas as an inspiration for future RWA's activities.
We encourage everyone to look at the essays as they provide interesting practical ideas on the ways to increase diversity in arbitration for various arbitration stakeholders. From our side, we will take those ideas as an inspiration for future RWA's activities.
Winners
rwa.russianwomenarbitration@gmail.com
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