Russia / CIS

In-house editorial staff

Dr Michael Taylor

Senior Editor, Eastern Europe
D.Phil. Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford. Has worked for over twenty years as an analyst of Soviet and East European affairs, first for the BBC’s Monitoring Service, where he specialised in Afghanistan and Poland, and then for the Economist Intelligence Unit, where he specialised in the western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia and Yugoslavia), and in the prospects for NATO enlargement.

Sarah Hirschman

Senior Editor, Russia/CIS
Joined Oxford Analytica after seven years analysing Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus for the US Defence and State Departments. Former Naval Reserve intelligence officer. Specialises in defence and security affairs in the former Soviet space. Educated at George Washington University (BA), the University of Chicago (MA) and University College London, where she is writing her PhD on civil-military relations in Ukraine.

Region Heads

Dr Paul Chaisty

University Lecturer in Russian Government, University of Oxford
Specialist on Russian politics. Particular research interest in Russian constitutional and legislative politics. Recent publications include Legislative Politics and Economic Power in Russia (Palgrave, 2006) and articles in the Journal of Legislative Studies, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Europe-Asia Studies and Party Politics.

Dr Alex Pravda

Fellow and Director of the Russian and East European Centre
Author of studies on Soviet/Russian politics and foreign policy. Recent publications include Developments in Russian and post-Soviet Politics (with S L White and Z Gitelman). Has acted as specialist advisor to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons and to the BBC.

Dr David Priestland

Fellow and Tutor in Russian History and Politics, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
Widely published on Russian political and constitutional issues. Has lived and travelled extensively in Russia.