About the Authors

Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; and Director, Europe Program | CSIS

Heather A. Conley is senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic and director of the Europe Program at CSIS. Prior to joining CSIS as a senior fellow and director for Europe in 2009, Conley served four years as executive director of the Office of the Chairman of the Board at the American National Red Cross. From 2001 to 2005, she was deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibilities for U.S. bilateral relations with the countries of Northern and Central Europe. From 1994 to 2001, she was a senior associate with an international consulting firm led by former U.S. deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage. Ms. Conley began her career in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She was selected to serve as special assistant to the coordinator of U.S. assistance to the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, and she has received two State Department Meritorious Honor Awards. Ms. Conley is frequently featured as a foreign policy analyst and Europe expert on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, and PBS, among other prominent media outlets. She received her B.A. in international studies from West Virginia Wesleyan College and her M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Research Associate, Europe Program | CSIS

Donatienne Ruy is a research associate with the CSIS Europe Program, where she provides research and program support on issues ranging from political developments in the European Union, the migration crisis, Russian influence in Europe, and transatlantic relations. She previously worked at the World Bank on disaster risk financing in francophone African countries, drafting situation reports on natural disaster preparedness in Senegal and Madagascar. Ms. Ruy received her B.A. in political science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and her M.A. in global affairs from the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University.

Director, Economic Program | Center for the Study of Democracy

Ruslan Stefanov is the Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy’s Economic Program. He co-directed and co-authored The Kremlin Playbook and is the knowledge and development coordinator of the Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI.net), the largest regional civil society anticorruption network in the Eastern Neighborhood. Mr. Stefanov is also a member of the Free Enterprise and Democracy Network and the Development Institute of the Center for International Private Enterprise in Washington, D.C. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Analyst, Economic Program | Center for the Study of Democracy

Martin Vladimirov is an analyst at the Center for the Study of Democracy’s Economic Program. He focuses on energy security in Europe and the Balkans, the energy transition, alternative energy technologies, and the geopolitical dimensions of energy and financial markets. Mr. Vladimirov has worked as an energy analyst for The Oil and Gas Year, which produces in-depth overviews of the energy sector and major oil and gas producers around the world. He co-authored the 2016 study The Kremlin Playbook. He holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.