Alexey Khlebnikov is Strategic Risk Consultant & MENA Expert at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and Research Fellow at the Eurasian Strategies Research Unit. He also works as a consultant to various NGOs, think tanks and businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and the US. During his Master’s and Ph.D. studies, he has made several research trips working and studying in Syria, Israel, Egypt, and Hungary. He has been published on international relations topics in particular on the Middle East in academic journals and media sources in Russia, Europe, U.S., and the Middle East. He received his Master’s degree in Global Public Policy from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota as an Edmund S. Muskie Scholar and both Bachelor’s and Master’s in Middle East studies from Lobachevsky State University in Nizhni Novgorod. His PhD thesis is devoted to the reasons why “Arab Uprising” failed in Egypt and Syria. He tweets at @AleksKhlebnikov.