The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is pleased to announce Paul Stronski has joined its Russia and Eurasia Program as a senior associate. Stronski will focus on the relationship between Russia and neighboring countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Until January 2015, Stronski served as a senior analyst for Russian domestic politics in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He was director for Russia and Central Asia on the U.S. National Security Council staff from 2012 to 2014, where he supported the president, the national security advisor, and other senior U.S. administration officials on the development and coordination of policy toward Russia. Before that, he worked as a State Department analyst on Russia from 2011 to 2012, and on Armenia and Azerbaijan from 2007 to 2010. A former career U.S. foreign service officer, Stronski served in Hong Kong from 2005 to 2007.

“Carnegie is proud of our longstanding commitment to in-depth, nonpartisan work on Russia and Eurasia,” said Carnegie President William J. Burns. “Paul Stronski’s unique combination of policy and analytical expertise makes him an ideal choice to help us dig deeper into the complex issues facing Russia and its neighbors.”

“I am excited to join Carnegie,” Stronski said. “I look forward to working with colleagues in Moscow and Washington to help rebuild trust and enhance understanding in this time of crisis for U.S.-Russia relations.”

In his new role, Stronski will work closely with Carnegie Vice President for Studies Andrew S. Weiss, Russia and Eurasia Program Director Eugene Rumer, and Carnegie Moscow Center staff.

Stronski graduated from Georgetown University and holds a master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies and a PhD in history from Stanford University. His book, Tashkent: Forging a Soviet City, 1930-1966 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010), was awarded the 2011 Central Eurasian Studies Society Book Award for History and Humanities. He has taught at Stanford, George Washington, and George Mason universities