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Maksim Samorukov
Fellow, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

about


Maksim Samorukov is a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Samorukov’s research is focused on Russia’s relations with the states of Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe. From 2015-2022 he was a fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center based in Russia, until the center was closed down by the Russian authorities.

Before joining Carnegie in 2015, Samorukov worked at independent Russian media outlets including Slon.ru as an international correspondent and columnist, covering topics including Russian foreign policy and its ties with Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Balkans.

Before joining Slon.ru, Samorukov worked at Insider magazine, covering the Eastern European insurance markets.


education
MA, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 2008
languages
Czech, English, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish

All work from Maksim Samorukov

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53 Results
In The Media
in the media
Will Moldova’s Election Finally Loosen Russia’s Grip?

As Moldovans prepare to go to the polls on Oct. 20, it looks like another round of the familiar geopolitical standoff between Russia and the West over the countries in Moscow’s former empire and sphere of influence.

· October 16, 2024
Foreign Policy
The Dissipation of Russian Influence in Moldova

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Maksim Samorukov, a fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, and by Paula Erizanu, a prominent writer and journalist from Chisinau who writes for Financial Times, The Guardian and The New York Times, to discuss the upcoming presidential election in Moldova and what leverage Moscow still has to interfere in Moldova’s path toward the EU.

· October 16, 2024
paper
In Odesa’s Shadows: What Is Russia’s Strategy in Moldova?

Moscow’s approach to Moldova is to play for time and keep the country in geopolitical limbo by stoking internal divisions, stalling reforms, and fueling disenchantment with the pro-European course.

· October 9, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Why Russia Tolerates Serbia Sending Arms to Ukraine

Moscow prefers to ignore occasional backsliding by its ‘Serbian friends’ as it sees the relationship with Belgrade as crucial to sustaining the semblance of Russian influence in the Balkans.

· July 8, 2024
Balkan Insight
event
Between Russia and the EU: Europe’s Arc of Instability
June 25, 2024

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left a group of “in-between” European countries more vulnerable and insecure than ever before. This arc of instability spans from the South Caucasus through Moldova to the Western Balkans.

paper
Between Russia and the EU: Europe’s Arc of Instability

Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia are caught in between Russia and the EU, building ties with the latter even as the former seeks to maintain influence there and deter the West.

In The Media
in the media
Russian President Putin is being inaugurated for a 5th term

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday will be inaugurated to another six-year term. Most European Union countries are boycotting the ceremony.

· May 7, 2024
Morning Edition (NPR)
In The Media
in the media
Putin’s Brittle Regime

Like the Soviet one that preceded it, his system is always on the brink of collapse.

· April 25, 2024
Foreign Affairs
He Stopped Prigozhin’s Mutiny: What’s Next for Belarus’s Chief Negotiator Lukashenko?

By solving a Russian domestic crisis, the Belarusian leader has effectively joined the ranks of Russian grandees vying for Putin’s favor by eliminating irritating problems that could distract the president from his high-stakes geopolitical machinations.

· June 30, 2023
In The Media
in the media
Why Putin Will Never Agree to De-escalate

Regardless of how worn-out Russians may be, therefore, Putin will stick to his selective perception of reality, looking for reasons for and ways to further escalate his addictive crusade against the current world order.

· June 13, 2023