Nicolai N. Petro

University of Rhode Island

Nicolai N. Petro is a professor of comparative and international politics at the University of Rhode Island. From July 2013 to July 2014, he was a Fulbright Research Scholar affiliated with I. L. Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine.

In 1989 and 1990, Petro served as an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. While in this role, he served as special assistant for policy in the office of Soviet Union affairs in the U.S. Department of State, and as temporary political attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. In addition, Petro has monitored local elections in central Russia, Belarus, and Latvia and in 2001-2002, he served as staff consultant to the municipal research and training center Dialog, and advisor to the mayor of the Russian city of Novgorod the Great.

Petro has received two Fulbright awards (one to Russia and one to Ukraine); a Thornton D. Hooper International Affairs Fellowship at the Foreign Policy Research Institute; and research awards from the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies in Washington, D.C., and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Petro's articles have appeared in The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, The Washington Times, and many other American and Russian publications. He has authored or co-authored eight books, including Crafting Democracy: How Novgorod has Coped with Rapid Social Change, The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture, and Russian Foreign Policy: From Empire to Nation-State, co-authored with Alvin Z. Rubinstein.

Featured Work

<a href="http://shutr.bz/1fRHuEW">Odessa's opera house</a> and the <a href="http://shutr.bz/QidLsI">May 2 riots</a> via Shutterstock

MAY 9, 2014 Podcast

Ukraine Update: Report from Odessa

With the deadly conflict in Ukraine spreading to this hitherto calm southern city, David Speedie speaks again with Dr. Nicolai Petro, professor of international relations ...

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-165783677/stock-photo-kharkiv-ukraine-december-constitution-square-in-the-city-center-after-a-recent-overhaul-on.html">Constitution Square</a> in Kharkiv, Ukraine via Shutterstock

APR 23, 2014 Podcast

Report from Ukraine: The Crisis Moves East

David Speedie discusses with Dr. Nicolai Petro, currently a Fulbright Fellow in Odessa, the recent outbreaks of violence in pro-Russia majority regions of Eastern Ukraine, ...

APR 11, 2014 Podcast

An Update from Ukraine

From Odessa, political scientist Dr. Nicolai Petro discusses the unrest in the eastern Donbas region and possibilities for a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=181796219">Russian and Ukrainian flags  </a> via Shutterstock

MAR 24, 2014 Podcast

Crisis in Ukraine: Ukraine and Russia Beyond Crimean Secession

Professor Nicolai Petro, currently in Odessa, Ukraine, discusses recent developments, including the secessionist vote in the Crimean peninsula and the subsequent annexation by Russia, outcomes ...

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=178530797">The Swallow's Nest, Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine</a> via Shutterstock

MAR 5, 2014 Podcast

Crisis in Ukraine: Crimean Stand-Off

In the latest Security Bulletin, Russia expert Professor Nicolai Petro speaks from Odessa in southern Ukraine on the ongoing crisis, with a particular focus on ...

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-113151847/stock-photo-golden-domes-and-crosses-orthodox-cathedral-odessa-ukraine.html">Golden domes and crosses, Orthodox Cathedral, Odessa, Ukraine.</a> via Shutterstock

FEB 24, 2014 Podcast

Crisis in Ukraine: The View from Beyond Kiev

This is the third in a series of Security Bulletins on the crisis in Ukraine, and here Dr. Nicolai N. Petro gives us a view ...