Alexander Rahr completed his Master’s in history and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. Before joining the German Council on Foreign Relations in 1994, he was a senior analyst at Radio Free Europe, Munich, and project manager at the Federal Institute for East European and International Studies, Cologne. He has worked as a consultant for the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica and is a member of the executive board of the Yalta European Strategy. He is also on the executive committee of the Petersburg Dialogue. Alexander Rahr is a distinguished professor at Moscow State University and the Higher School of Economics. He is director of the Berthold Beitz Center for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Central Asia.