Peter Zalmayev (; born 1976) is a

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative (EDI), an international

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to the promotion of democracy and human rights in post-Communist transitional societies of Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Background

Biography

Peter Zalmayev was born in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

Education

Zalmayev received his Master's in International Affairs from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the List of schools of international relations in the United States, international affairs and public policy school, public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League univers ...

with a concentration in post-Soviet/Eurasian studies. From 2000 to 2006, Zalmayev managed the Central Asia/Caucasus Program at a major international

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

watchdog, the

International League for Human Rights The International League for Human Rights (ILHR) is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City. Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human righ ...

. Zalmayev is a graduate of the International Peace Academy's (currently known as

International Peace Institute The International Peace Institute (IPI, formerly the International Peace Academy) is an independent non-profit think tank founded in 1970 based in New York. The institute has a regional office in the Middle East ( Manama, Bahrain) and had a regi ...

)2003 Seminar "The Regionalization of Conflict and Intervention" He has provided regular commentary to major U.S. and international print and broadcast media on political, social and economic developments in countries of the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. In 2011, Zalmayev joined the board of the American Jewish Committee, New York Region. Zalmayev is a contributor to The Odessa Review and one of the anchors of Priamyi TV Channel in Ukraine

Kazakhstan, Central Asia and Other Post-Soviet States

On June 12, 2002, as a representative of the International League for Human Rights, Zalmayev testified about the situation in Kazakhstan to members of the European Parliament's Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

und EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees. In October 2002, Zalmayev condemned the Kazakhstani government's persecution of Sergei Duvanov, an independent journalist, and, following Duvanov's arrest on charges widely seen as trumped up, Zalmayev proposed to give Duvanov the League's annual human rights award at a ceremony held at the United Nations on December 9, 2002 (on the eve of the

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...

). In 2008, Zalmayev protested against Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's being nominated for the Nobel Prize. Zalmayev was quoted in reports on Kazakhstan elections in 2010. In 2010, Zalmayev, in an interview to Kyiv Post, criticized Ukraine's government for its attempts to muzzle independent media in the country.

Russo-Ukrainian hybrid war

Following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula, Zalmayev has provided regular commentary on the Russo-Ukrainian hybrid war, in various international broadcast media, including

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

. Zalmayev is also a regular contributor to Al Jazeera's website. In June - July 2014, Zalmayev appeared in leading Ukrainian broadcast media, including the country's main political talk show, Shuster LIVE with

Savik Shuster Savik Shuster (; ; born Ševelis Šusteris; November 22, 1952) is a journalist and television anchor. He presented ''The Freedom By Savik Shuster'', and starting in 2005, '' The Freedom of Speech (ICTV)'', on ICTV. Since December 2015, he produc ...

, where he urged Ukraine's government to devise a broad international media campaign to help Ukraine in the face of Moscow's aggression. Zalmayev also gave interviews to Ukraine's media resources as Hromadske TV, VESTI Radio, and the 1+1 channel. He is also often a contributor to The Odessa Review.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zalmayev, Peter Living people School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Pryamiy kanal people Ukrainian journalists