FPRI’s BMB Russia, generously backed by the FPRI Eurasia Program, brings you news about Russia’s economy, politics, business climate, and political risk environment. It features a daily news brief and blog, the latter of which you are presently reading. We also run a bi-weekly news roundup on Eurasia, covering 11 post-Soviet states. BMB Russia strives to be a resource for specialists and generalists, a platform for analysis, particularly for emerging area experts and academics, and a space for even-handed, fact-based conversations in hopes of improving Russia/Eurasia analysis and coverage. Opinions presented on the site are contributors’ only and do not represent those of FPRI.
The Brief Team
Nick Trickett is Editor-in-Chief of BMB Russia/Eurasia and a columnist covering Russian energy. He writes the Tuesday Energy Outlook column as well as writing BMB Russia’s daily brief and coordinating our biweekly product BMB Eurasia. He holds an MA in Eurasian studies through the European University at St. Petersburg. He focuses on energy security, economic foreign policy, Sino-Russian relations, and political economy across Eurasia more broadly, namely through energy and infrastructure. He will be returning to school for an Msc Research Track program in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics this fall.
Stephanie Petrella is deputy editor of BMB Russia. She currently works as a research associate in FPRI’s Eurasia program studying the history of Russia’s relationship with Asia. Previously, Stephanie researched Eurasian infrastructure developments at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Stephanie holds a BA in Russian and political science from the University of Pennsylvania and has studied at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO).
Helen Simpson is deputy editor of BMB Russia. She is an undergraduate at Harvard College majoring in Social Studies. She has spent time abroad in Moldova and Tajikistan, where she studied Russian and Persian. She is currently researching elections in the post-Soviet region, although her other interests include international conflict and democratic backslide.
Ola McLees is deputy editor of BMB Eurasia. She spent the past year working in political risk consulting during an Alfa Fellowship in Moscow. She previously worked in consulting in London and D.C., with a focus on sanctions, the energy sector and the defense industry in the CIS region. She holds a MPhil in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science and History from the University of Chicago, having spent a year between the two as a Junior Research Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
T.J. Sjostrom is a research assistant for BMB Eurasia. He is a father, veteran, and a current European and Eurasian Studies concentrator at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and the editor-in-chief of The SAIS Observer. He is a 2014 undergraduate of National Intelligence University. He focuses on defense, energy, and political developments in the post-Soviet space.
The Blog Team
Marita Petherbridge is a manager and editor for Bear Market Blog. She studies international relations and Russian language at the Australian National University. Her academic interests include critical approaches to security, information and media in international affairs, and Western perceptions of the post-Soviet space. Marita has written about Ukrainian politics for The Foreign Brief.
Eloise Goldsmith is Deputy Blog Editor for BMB Russia. She is based in New York where she works as a Publishing Associate for Foreign Affairs magazine. She graduated from McGill University in 2017 with a B.A. in Russian Studies.
Nicholas James is a manager and deputy editor for Bear Market Blog. He is a Russian Studies and Government graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and recently completed his MSc in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics. His research interests surround nationalism and political attitudes in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Based in London, he is a social media editor at Nations and Nationalism and produces an academic podcast on nationalism studies.
Columnists and Contributors
Aaron Schwartzbaum is the founder of FPRI’s BMB Russia and is now a senior columnist and contributor. He writes a weekly wrap-up column on Fridays. Aaron received his MA in International Political Economy and International Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington DC and is now a subject matter expert for Dataminr. Previously, he was a researcher with Eurasia Group’s Eurasia and global macro practices, and has experience in investment banking. He has lived in Saint Petersburg for a year and a half, where he completed the Overseas Language Flagship program. He focuses predominantly on Russia’s economy, fiscal policy, domestic politics, defense-related issues, and more broadly, political risk.
Alex Nice is a senior columnist covering sectors (Financial, Aerospace, Agro, Pharma, etc.) in his Monday column. He has just returned from a year in Moscow based at the Higher School of Economics Development Centre. In 2013-17 he was Regional Manager at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in London covering Russia and the CIS. He was previously the Coordinator of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Nicholas McCarty is a columnist covering Russian defense topics and industry in his Wednesday column. Currently a graduate student at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service focusing on conventional Russian military capabilities, he received his BA in Russian History and Economics from the University of Notre Dame.
Anna Nadibaidze is a columnist covering telegram gossip and Russia’s policymakers in her Wednesday column. She holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and has previously studied at McGill University and the University of Edinburgh. She has lived and worked in Russia, Canada, the UK and Austria. Her research interests include discourse in international relations, intergovernmental organizations and EU-Russia relations. In addition to English, Anna speaks Russian, French and Italian, and is learning Mandarin.
Fabrice Deprez is a weekly columnist for the Brief focusing on Russia’s political situation as well as regional developments. He is currently based in Kiev, where he works as the Ukraine correspondent for French daily “La Croix” as well as bne IntelliNews, and has contributed to outlets such as War is Boring, L’Echo, La Tribune de Genève and many others. He is also a contributor on Ukraine and Russia for The Economist Intelligence Unit. Fabrice holds an MA in international relations from Toulouse’s University of Political Sciences (France) and also studied international relations (as well as Russian language) at Saint-Petersburg’s state university.
Max Hess is a blog contributor. He is a Senior Political Risk Analyst with AKE International. He is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and Franklin & Marshall College. Max focuses on trade networks, markets, sovereign debt, political economy and regional relations in Eurasia.