Andrei Kolesnikov is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. His research focuses on the major trends shaping Russian domestic politics, with particular focus on ideological shifts inside Russian society.
Kolesnikov is also a member of the scientific advisory council of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and a senior research associate fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).
Before joining Carnegie in 2015, Kolesnikov worked for a number of leading Russian publications. He previously was the managing editor of Novaya Gazeta newspaper and served as deputy editor in chief of Izvestia and The New Times.
He has won numerous journalism awards, including the Russian Golden Quill (Zolotoye Pero Rossii) Award, the Adam Smith Prize, and the 2021 Yegor Gaidar Award for outstanding contribution to the study of history.
Kolesnikov is author of several books, including a biography of the Russian reformer Yegor Gaidar.
The formation in Russia of a new concept of “fairness” is testament to how long the war in Ukraine is expected to continue. The “special military operation” is fast approaching a way of life.
While there is no doubt over the election’s outcome, the presidential campaign is already exposing the myth of complete consolidation around an irreplaceable president. Vladimir Putin may be winning in the short term, but he is strewing mines beneath the country’s future.
Alexei Navalny will not be forgotten. He was a unique example of a fearless politician in a country where politics in the traditional sense of the word is directly forbidden on the threat of reprisals.
As Putin gears up for Russia’s March 2024 “presidential election,” securing controlled victory, questions arise about potential post-election military escalation.
Writing on Russian Constitution Day, Andrei Kolesnikov examines the succession of constitutions from Soviet times to present, including Vladimir Putin’s 2020 amendments, and concludes that the authoritarianization of Russia’s current regime is no fault of its constitution.
The nationalist-imperialist worldview that the Putin regime is imposing on Russians is intended to feed on the past and exploit historical memories and concepts to reshape and manage the mass consciousness of the Russian people.
Carnegie Politika podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center in Moscow, and Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss their new paper for Carnegie Endowment, "Alternate Reality: How Russian Society Learned to Stop Worrying About the War."
Many Russians equate their country with the political regime that rules it, and believe it is their duty to support the state’s actions. This belief and the limited impact the war in Ukraine has had on the day-to-day lives of most Russians go some way to explaining continuing high levels of support for the war among Russians.