CV

Nikolay Kozhanov

nikolay@qu.edu.qa                

Summary of Career Experience

  • Track record as an analyst and consultant on geopolitical and geoeconomic issues with the special focus on energy security of the Persian Gulf; Iran’s economy and foreign policy; and Russian foreign policy in the Middle East;
  • Over 10 years of experience of living and working in the Middle East (long stay: Egypt, Iran, Qatar; short stay: Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), Israel, Lebanon, Marocco, Oman, Turkey, UAE);
  • Extended experience of working in multinational and multicultural environment, including fellowships at such think-tanks as Chatham House, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Moscow office), and Washington Institute for Near East Policy;
  • University professor with the experience of designing courses on the political economy of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf;
  • Extensive contacts in NGOs, academia, the corporate sector and the media in Europe, the Middle East and Russia
  • Experience in managing research projects, organizing expert and academic events as well as in supervising publication activities
  • Presenting and lecturing at conferences on energy security of the Persian Gulf; Iran’s economy and foreign policy; and Russian foreign policy in the Middle East;
  • Extensive experience in writing articles, book chapters, research papers, consultancy reports, expert commentaries and op-eds for in-house and external publications (including the Middle East Institute Blog, Al-Monitor, Eurasia Daily Monitor, Le Monde Diplomatique, Russian Analytical Digest, ENERPO Journal, Sharq Forum website, Chatham House website, Kalam blog, Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Manara Magazine, and Al Amwaj.)
  • Media interview experience on TV and radio (BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Sky)
  • Fluency in English, Russian and Persian languages as well as the intermediate level of Arabic.

Research Interests

  • Impact of the energy transition on the oil and gas sector of the GCC member states;
  • Energy security of the Persian Gulf;
  • Role of OPEC/OPEC+ as an oil market regulator;
  • Political economy of the GCC and Iran;
  • Russian presence in the Middle East.

Education

Sep 2006 – Feb 2010 PhD (international economics and economic security of the Middle East and Iran), School of Economics, St Petersburg State University.

Oct 2010 – Sep 2011  MA Middle East Studies (with distinction), Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.

Sep 2003 – Jun 2006 Second Higher Degree (MA equivalent) International Economics, School of Economics, St Petersburg State University.

Sep 2004 –Jun 2006   MA Oriental Studies (History of the Middle East and Asia), School of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg State University.

Sep 1999 – Jul 2004   BA Oriental Studies (History of Iran and Afghanistan), Faculty of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg State University.

Language skills

Russian         native

English         fluent

Persian          fluent

  Arabic           intermediate.

Citizenship

Russia

Current Employment

Aug 2019 – present    Research Associate Professor, Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University.

  • Delivering courses for MA and PhD students on political economy of the Middle East including Global Energy Geopolitics and Energy and Natural Resources in the Gulf;
  • Preparing academic and research reports and publications on the Gulf energy issues;
  • Delivering public lectures on the topics of my research interest
  • Arranging academic and expert events on the economy of the Gulf (round-tables, guest talks, book launches, conferences)
  • Developing the roaster of authors interested in contributing to the Gulf Studies Center publication series
  • Supervision of publications by the Gulf Studies Center on the issues of the Gulf economy and development
  • Editing and publication supervision of collective monographs on the economy and international relations of the Gulf (one monograph project a year)
  • Organization of the annual conference at the Gulf Studies Center

May 2021 – present   Non-resident scholar, Middle East Institute. Washington DC.

  • Writing articles, reports, expert comments and op-eds on the impact of the 4th energy transition on the interests of traditional oil and gas exporters of the Gulf; socio-economic issues of Iran and the role of OPEC+ as a market regulator;
    • Participation in expert events on the energy and economic issues of the Middle East

October 2019 – present           Consultant, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.

  • Research on the Russian presence in the Middle East;
    • Writing articles and op-eds for in-house and external publications;
    • Conference presentations on Russian diplomacy in the Middle East;
  • Media interviews

Previous Employment

May 2017 – April 2023    Non-resident Consultant, Rapidan Energy Group

  • Writing in-house reports on developments in the Russian, Iranian and GCC oil and gas sector
    • Preparation of occasional briefings on the key events of the Russian, Iranian and Qatari foreign policy
    • Writing periodical (twice a month) briefing papers on Russian and Iranian relations with the Middle East, OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum

Oct 2013–Aug 2019    Associate Professor on the Political Economy of the Middle East, European University, St Petersburg.

  • Designing and delivering courses for MA students on Political Economy of the modern Middle East, Political Economy of the Caspian Region and Economic History of Iran;
    • Supervising MA students;
    • Preparing reports and publications on socio-economic
    • developments in Iran and Russian oil and gas diplomacy.  

Jan 2019 – May 2019 Visiting Associate Professor, Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University.

  • Delivering a course for MA students on Global Energy Geopolitics;
  • Preparing academic reports and publications on the Gulf energy issues and Russian relations with the GCC countries;
  • Delivering public lectures on the topics of my research interest

Feb 2016–Feb 2019   Chatham House Academy Associate, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.  

  • Research on the Russian presence in the Middle East;
    • Writing articles and op-eds for in-house and external publications;
    • Conference presentations on Russian diplomacy in the Middle East;
  • Media interviews

Nov 2014–July 2016  Non-resident fellow, Carnegie Moscow Center, Russia. 

  • Research on Russian presence in the Middle East and the international relations of Middle Eastern countries;
  • Articles, book chapters, papers and op-eds for in-house and external publications;
  • Conference presentations and policy briefings on Russian diplomacy in the Middle East and Iran’s domestic and foreign policy;
  • Developing contacts with US, EU and Middle Eastern institutions and experts.

Nov 2011–June 2016 Senior Lecturer on the Political Economy and Economic Security of the Middle East, School of Economics, St Petersburg State University.  

  • Designing and delivering courses for BA and MA students on political economy of the modern Middle East, history of Islamic economic thought and theory of Islamic economy;
    • Supervising BA and MA students;
  • Conducting research on Middle Eastern food security and energy policy.

Feb 2015–Nov 2015   Chatham House Robert Bosch Fellow, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.  

  • Research on the Russian presence in the Middle East;
    • Writing articles and op-eds for in-house and external publications;
    • Conference presentations on Russian diplomacy in the Middle East;
  • Major report on the influence of Russia’s confrontation with the West on Moscow’s diplomacy in the Middle East;
  • Media interviews with BBC, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, IRINN, TRT, Radio 4, ABC, BBC Russian Service; op-eds in Newsweek, Reuters, Al Majalla, Al Hayat.

Mar 2012 – May 2012 Visiting fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Washington DC   

  • Preparing paper on Russian-Iranian relations;
    • Writing op-eds for in-house and external publications;
    • Participation in conferences and roundtables

Apr 2010 – Sept 2010 Internship, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 

  • Preparation of reports on political and economic developments in Iran;
    • Assistance in organization of conferences and roundtables;
  • Delivering lectures on the international relations of the Middle East.

Nov 2009–Feb 2015   Expert, Institute of the Middle East, NGO, Moscow 

  • Preparation of monthly reports on current economic and political developments in the Middle East;
    • Assistance in the organization of conferences and round tables.

Jul 2006 – Nov 2009 Assistant-attaché (since February 2008, attaché), Embassy of the Russian Federation, Iran. 

  • Gathering information to analyze socio-economic situation in the Caspian region and assess future development;
  • Preparing reports on development of energy projects in Caspian region;
    • Analysing Iran’s nuclear policy;
    • Informal interpreting and translating;
    • Organising official delegations’ visits.   

Fellowships and Awards

Feb 2015 – Nov 2015                        Robert Bosch Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, the UK

March 2012 – May 2012                   Visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Washington DC, the US

Invited Political Briefings

Since 2010                                         consulting work on the Middle Eastern and Russian economic and foreign policy issues for British and US business companies, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, British Ministry of Defence, German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US State Department and the NATO Defence College.

List of publications

Monographs

  1. Iran’s Strategic Thinking: The Evolution of Iran’s Foreign Policy 1979-2017. (London, Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2018)
  2. Russia and the Syrian Conflict: Moscow’s Domestic Regional and Strategic Interests (London, Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2016)
  3. Economic Sanctions against Iran: Aims, Scale and Consequences (Moscow: Institute of the Middle East, 2011). In Russian.

Edited Volumes

  1. Together with Karen Young and Jalal Qanas. GCC Hydrocarbon Economies and COVID: Old Trends New Realities (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
  2. Russia and the Middle East. (London: Oxford University Press and Hurst, 2022).
  3. Russia’s Relations with the GCC and Iran. (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Research and policy papers

  1. Diversifying Relationships: Russian Policy in the Middle East and its Impact on the GCC. (Brussel: Bussola Institute, 2020).
  2. The GCC and the Evolving Notion of Gulf Energy Security (Ankara: Al Sharq Strategic Research, 2020).
  3. Russian Foreign Policy towards Qatar and Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gaps. (Doha: Gulf Studies Center, 2019).
  4. Russian Policy Across the Middle East: Motivations and Methods (London: Chatham House, 2018)
  5. Russian Foreign Policy in the Middle East: New Challenge for Western Interests? (Washington: Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2017)
  6. Together with Piotr Dutkiewicz, Civil War in Syria and the Evolution of Russian – Iranian Relations (Abu Dhabi: Emirates Policy Center, 2016)
  7. Understanding the Revitalization of Russian-Iranian Relations (Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center, 2015)
  8. Russia’s Relations with Iran: Dialogue without Commitments (Washington: Washington Institute of Near East Policy, 2012)

Articles in peer-reviewed journals

  1. Not Just hydrocarbons: Japan’s multifaceted foreign policy approaches towards the GCC states. International Politics, 2023, N60(6), 1248-1269.
  2. Between Development, Growth, and Survival: Iran’s Economic Priorities before and under President Raisi. The Muslim World. March 2023.
  3. Iran’s Economy under Sanctions: Two Levels of Impact. Russia in Global Affairs, 20(4), 2022
  4. Geopolitics of Qatar Natural Gas in the Era of Energy Markets Transformation: Small State Approach. The Ideology and Politics Journal. Issue 3 (2021).
  5. Russia-GCC Economic Relations: When Quality Matters more than Quantity. Insight Turkey. Vol. 23, No. 1 (2021).
  6. Together with Issaev, L. Diversifying Relationships: Russian Policy towards GCC. International Politics. February 2021.
  7. Toghether with Kobrinskaya, S., Machavariany, I. Russia and the world: 2020 IMEMO forecast. New Perspectives, Vol. 28(4), 2020. In Russian.
  8. Together with Bogacheva, A. S., Ibragimov, I. E. The Middle East in the Second Wave of the Coronavirus Crisis. Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law, Vol. 13(5), 2020. In Russian.
  9. Together with Bogacheva, A. S. The Islamic Republic of Iran in Search of its Foreign Policy Identity: Revolutionary Innovation or Continuity? MGIMO Review of International Relations, Vol. 13(2), 2020. In Russian.
  10. Iran and the GCC countries: Between confrontation and dialogue. World Economy and International Relations. Vol. 64(7), 2020. In Russian.
  11. Together with Zvyagelskaya, I. States of the Middle East in Search of Foreign Policy Identity, World Economy and International Relations, Vol. 63, №9, 2019. In Russian.
  12. Russian-Iranian Relations through the Prism of the Syrian Crisis, Insight Turkey, Vol. 19, №4 (2017).
  13. Russian-Iranian Dialogue after 2012: Turning a New Page?, Russian Analytical Digest №192 (2016)
  14. Marriage of Convenience: the Prospects of Russian-Iranian Regional Cooperation, Russia in Global Affairs, N3 (2016). In Russian.
  15. Action and Counteraction: the Iranian Experience of Sanctions Evasion. Russia in Global Affairs, N1 (2016). In Russian.
  16. Russia and the Arab Spring: Adjusting to a New Political Vista’ in Ortadogu Stutleri. Vol. 6, No 1 (2014).
  17. Russian-Syrian Dialogue: Myths and Realities. The Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Vol5, N1 (2014).
  18. Russian Support of Assad’s regime: are there any limits?, The International Spectator Vol. 48, No. 2, June 2013.
  19. Russian-Iranian Economic Relations: Challenges and Opportunities, The Maghreb Review, Volume 37, 2012.
  20. International Economic Sanctions as a Means of “the Enforcement of a Contract” (the Case Study of the Economic Sanctions Adopted against Iran). The Herald of the Saint-Petersburg State University.№1, January, 2012. In Russian.
  21. The Pretexts and Reasons for the Allied Invasion of Iran in 1941. The Iranian Studies, Issue 4, 2012.
  22. The US Economic Sanctions against Iran: Undermined by External Factors. The Middle East Policy, Vol. XVIII, №3, Fall 2011.
  23. The Stamps of Iran. A Short Historical Survey. Iranoslavika, №2, 2010. In Russian.
  24. About the Problem of the Accession of Iran to the WTO. World and National Economy. 2010. №2 (13). In Russian.
  25. About Some Perspectives of the Development of the Gas Sector of the Iranian Economy. The Near East and Modernity. №38(2009). In Russian.
  26. Iran: the WTO Membership and Agricultural Imports Regulations. The Near East and Modernity. №37(2008). In Russian.
  27. Preconditions for the Adoption of the Foreign Direct Investment Promotion and Protection Law in Iran (2002). Its Contents and Meaning’. The Near East and Modernity. №29(2006). In Russian.

Book reviews

  1. ‘Critical Review ofPutin’s War in Syria: Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America’s Absence by Anna Borshchevskaya’, in The Middle East Book Review (2022) 13 (2): 210–215.
  2. ‘Critical Review of August 1941: The Anglo-Russian Occupation of Iran and Change of Shahs by Mohammad GholiMajd’ in The Middle Eastern Studies (2014) 50:3, 511-516

Chapters in collective volumes and monographs

  1. Qatar’s LNG Industry in the Age of Hydrocarbon Markets: Instability and Energy Transition. Karen Young, Katherine Wolf (eds.) Energy Transitions in the Middle East (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2024)
  2. Gulf Energy Security During the COVID-19: From the Security of Supply to the Security of Demand. In Nikolay Kozhanov, Karen Young and Jalal Qanas (eds.) GCC Hydrocarbon Economies and COVID: Old Trends New Realities (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
  3. Together with Naji Abi-Aad. Challenges Facing the Gulf Petroleum Industry: Covid-19, New Technologies, Energy Transition. In Karen Young and Jalal Qanas (eds.) GCC Hydrocarbon Economies and COVID: Old Trends New Realities (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
  4. Russia’s Energy Ambitions in the Middle East. In Adib Farhadi, Anthony Masys (eds.). The Great Power Competition. Vol 2. (Singapore: Springer, 2022).
  5. The Drivers of Russia-GCC Relations. In Nikolay Kozhanov (ed.). Russia and the Middle East. (London: Hurst, 2022)
  6. Religion and Iran’s International Relations. In Jeff Haynes (ed.) Handbook on Religion and International Relations. (London: Edward Elgar, 2021).
  7. Navigating Troubled Waters: Geopolitics of Qatar Natural Gas in the Age of Shale Revolution and COVID Pandemic. In Mahjoob Zweiri, Farah Al Qawasmi (eds.) Contemporary Qatar. (Singapore: Springer, 2021).
  8. Iqtisad Iran va al Uqubat al Amrikiya ba’ad Ayatallah Khamenei. In al Tidzhani Abd al Qadir (ed.). Sinariyuhat al Nizam ak Irani ma ba’ad Khamenei. (Doha: Ibn Khaldon Center for Humanities and Science, 2021). In Arabic.
  9. Iran and Russia: Between Pragmatism and Possibilities of a Strategic Alliance. In Luciano Zaccara (ed.) Foreign Policy of Iran under President Hassan Rouhani’s First Term (2013–2017). (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
  10. From Russia’s military deployment in Syria to the Astana Process. In Raymond Hinnebusch, Adham Saouli (ed.), The War for Syria (London: Routledge, 2019)
  11. The USSR and the Allied Occupation of Iran in August 1941: the Untold Story of a Difficult Decision. In Rudi Matthee, Elena Andreeva (ed.), Russians in Iran (London: I.B.Tauris, 2018)
  12. Russian Foreign Policy in the Middle East: New Challenge for Western Interests? In Stefan Meister (ed.), The Russia File: Russia and the West in an Unordered World (Washington: Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2017)
  13. Iranian and Russian Views on the Situation in the Middle East: How Do We See the Future of the Region. In I.Ivanov (ed.), Russian-Iran Partnership: an Overview and Prospects for the Future. (Moscow: RIAC, 2016).
  14. Marketing in the Countries of the Middle East. In Irirna Vorobyova (ed.), International Marketing, (Moscow:Youright, 2016). In Russian.
  15. Russian Economic Relations with the GCC Countries. In Ahmed Al-Hamli (ed), Russian Foreign Policy and the GCC, (Abu Dhabi: Trends, 2015).
  16. Russia and the Middle East: Adjusting to a New Political Vista. In Mason Robert (ed.), The International Politics of the Arab Spring: Popular Unrest and Foreign Policy (New-York: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2014)
  17. Iran’s Struggle for Food Security: Results and Future Perspectives. In Bazoobandi Sara (ed.), The Politics of Food Security: Asian and Middle Eastern Strategies (London & Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2014).
  18. Iran and East Asian Countries: Economic Dialogue and its Strategic Implications. In Tim Niblock, Yang Guang (ed.), Security Dynamics of East Asia in the Gulf Region (London & Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2014)
  19. The States of the Middle East in the System of International Business. In Aleksandr Pogorletskiy (ed.), International Business: Theory and Practice (Moscow: Youright, 2014). In Russian.
  20. ‘The Influence of the External Factors on the Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions. The Case Study of Sanctions adopted against Iran’, Sergey Sutyrin (ed.), Economic Theory and Practice: Global Challenges (St.Petersburg: St.Petersburg State University, 2012).
  21. Russia and the Gulf: the Main Principles of the Political and Economic Dialogue. In Tim Niblock, Monica Malik (ed.), Asia-Gulf Economic Relations in the 21st Century (London & Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2013)
  22. The Problem of Food Security in Iran during the Period 1990 – 2010. In S.F.Sutyrin (ed.), International Trading System. Compendium of teaching materials (Saint-Petersburg: Saint-Petersburg State University. 2011). In Russian.
  23. Estimation of the Level of Food Security of the IRI and Its Fluctuations in 1990 – 2009. In Nina Mamedova (ed). 30 Years of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Main Achievements and Further Perspectives. (Moscow: The Institute of the Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2010). In Russian.

Op-eds and newspaper articles (most recent)

  1. Why Gulf Arab states are not intervening in the Red Sea. Amwaj.media. February 28, 2024
https://amwaj.media/article/why-gulf-arab-states-are-not-intervening-in-the-red-sea?fbclid=IwAR1KcFUsC1YcUslZQca1UCxIVAPXP1IT6FRsOMqa6EDJ2c7VmvrC_qoEUdQ
  • Deep Dive: Qatar’s Quest for a New Mega-Project. Amwaj.media. December 21, 2023
https://amwaj.media/article/deep-dive-qatar-s-quest-for-a-new-mega-project?fbclid=IwAR3pM5mObcSr6PSf5LidJ-S4Zt7WzesknYv9LLFVSw6qwRhRbtzoSCVYazk
  • The Geopolitics of Energy: OPEC+ and the Challenges of the New Energy Order in Galip Dalay, Tareq Yousef (eds.), The Middle East’s Fragile Reset: Actors, Battlegrounds, and (Dis)order (Doha: Middle east Council for Global Affairs, 2023).
The Middle East’s Fragile Reset: Actors, Battlegrounds, and (Dis)order
  • Together with James Nixey. The War in Gaza is Aligning Russia against Israel. Chatham House. 9 November 2023.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/war-gaza-aligning-russia-against-israel?fbclid=IwAR316kX3DJZwNL1awni-dlwzLG3-qLfVijuvhtfElOo5m-JI4zirdOiFIF0
  • Russian Relations With the Middle East After Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine in Valeria Talbot, Karim Mezran (eds.) Multipolar Dynamics in the MENA Region: Power Relations Since the Ukraine War (Rome: ISPI, 2023)
Russian Relations With the Middle East After Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine
  • Saudis in Charge: Managing OPEC+’s Unhappy Days. Middle East Institute. 3 July 2023
https://www.mei.edu/publications/saudis-charge-managing-opecs-unhappy-days?fbclid=IwAR05PyFDE2ZjpmJyb6QpOM2LIUUyd7CLeNZe8Mbsb1RcBnmjPSpGa6cL6Zw

Personal

DOB: 29.10.82

Nationality: Russian

Family status: Divorced. One kid.