Andrei Kortunov is academic director of the Russian International Affairs Council. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1979 and completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute for US and Canada Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1982. He holds a PhD in history. Dr Kortunov completed internships at the Soviet embassies in London and Washington, and at the Permanent Delegation of the USSR to the UN. He has taught at universities around the world, including the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of expert and supervisory committees and boards of trustees of several Russian and international organisations. His academic interests include contemporary international relations and Russian foreign policy.