The Center on Global Interests (CGI) is an independent, nonprofit
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
research organization headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The Center conducts research and analysis on global affairs, focusing on
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
post-Soviet
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 ...
space. CGI was founded in 2012 by Nikolai Zlobin, a Russian-American foreign policy expert and author of multiple books on foreign affairs. It has often partnered with leading experts and officials from the United States and Russia, including security expert Pavel Baev, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Ambassador
Steven Pifer
Steven Karl Pifer (born 1953) is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe as well as the director of Brookings' Arms Control Initiative. He was formerly senior adviser with the Center for Strategic & ...
, and Russian Ambassador to the U.S.
Sergey Kislyak
Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak ( rus, Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mor ...
. Several of the Center's events have been broadcast on
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
.
Leadership
Nikolai Zlobin, CGI's founder and president, is a Russian-American political expert, author and journalist who served as an adviser to
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
in the 1990s. While acknowledging the difficulties of opening a new think tank in an already saturated environment, Zlobin said his goal was to create an organization that would "go beyond Cold-War thinking" to provide a strategic, long-term vision for U.S.-Russian relations. The organization's board is chaired by
Bruce Blair
Bruce Robert Blair (born 27 December 1957) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Otago and Northern Districts between 1977 and 1990.World Security Institute (WSI). Blair, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius grant" for his work on nuclear nonproliferation, is also co-founder of
Global Zero
Global Zero is a term in the literature of arms control that refers to the worldwide elimination of a weapons system, especially nuclear weapons or a particular class of nuclear weapons. In negotiations over the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces ...
, an international initiative launched in December 2008 to promote the elimination of
nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
.
Activities
The Center on Global Interests focuses on long-term strategic analysis of the U.S.-Russia relationship and the system of global governance as a whole. Its program areas explore Russian domestic politics, the Russia-West relationship, and Russia's relations with major global powers (such as China) and within international organizations (such as the BRICS and the G20).
CGI distributes a daily news digest, the Daily Russia Brief, with news from Russia and Eurasia.
Publications
CGI recruits outside scholars and former government officials to produce its reports. In 2013, CGI met with top U.S. and Russian officials to produce a set of recommendations for the Russian presidency of the
G20
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...
, focusing on Russia's responsibilities and opportunities as the host, as well as on the effectiveness of the G20 as a global institution. The resulting report was co-authored by Mark Medish, former Russia director at the National Security Council and president of Guggenheim International and Daniel Lucich, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. It was distributed to officials in Washington and Moscow '.
Following Russia's expulsion from the Group of Eight (G8), G8 over its annexation of Crimea in March 2014, CGI published a report titled "Back to the G7: Russia's Expulsion from the Group of Eight and the End of the Post-Cold War World." In it, the author argued that Russia's failure to integrate into the G8 set the stage for its eventual departure, marking the end of the rapprochement between Russia and the West that had characterized the previous 25 years.
In March 2015 CGI published a report assessing Vladimir Putin's third term as president of Russia co-authored by three prominent experts:
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa (born 22 August 1953, Norwich) is a British political scientist and a former professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, a senior research fellow at the National Research University-Higher School of Econ ...
,
Mark Galeotti
Mark Galeotti (born October 1965) is a British historian, lecturer and writer on transnational crime and Russian security affairs and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence. He is an honorary professor at the UCL School of Slavonic and Ea ...
and Harley Balzer of Georgetown University. Writing separately on the topics of politics, economics, and security, the authors concluded that Russia had entered a stage of "developed
Putinism
Putinism () is the social, political, and economic system of Russia formed during the political leadership of Vladimir Putin. There are three stages of Putinism; ''Classical Putinism'' (1999–2008), ''Tandem-Phase'' (2008–2012) and ''Devel ...
" in which the domestic system was solidified enough to sustain short-term crises but risked falling into long-term stagnation.
In advance of the July 2016
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...
(NATO) Summit in Warsaw, CGI published a report assessing the capabilities of the
Russian military
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent comba ...
and its potential threat to Western countries. The authors of the report,
Michael Kofman
Michael Kofman is an American military analyst known for his expertise on the Russian Armed Forces. He is the former director of the Russia Studies Program at CNA, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for I ...
and Alexander Golts, argued that Russia's military reforms since the 2008
Russo-Georgian War
The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...
had resulted in a significantly stronger army, but that it remained focused on conventional warfare (as opposed to "
Hybrid warfare
Hybrid warfare was defined by Frank Hoffman in 2007 as the emerging simultaneous use of multiple types of warfare by flexible and sophisticated adversaries who understand that successful conflict requires a variety of forms designed to fit the goa ...
") and had still not completed its transition to becoming a high-readiness force.
Events
The Center organizes monthly panel discussions that are open to the general public. It has previously partnered with the
Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded in 1974 to carry out studies of the Soviet Union ( Sovietology), and subsequently of post-Soviet Russia and other post-Soviet states. The institute is widel ...
at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...
and the
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
's Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) to host events.
Past events include:
* "Russia's Military: Assessment, Strategy, and Threat" with military analyst Michael Kofman.
* "Russia Policy for the Next U.S. Administration" with former Director of Russia Affairs at the
United States National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...
Thomas Graham (April 2016).
* "The U.S., Russia, and the New Middle East Disorder" held at the
National Press Club
A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...
(February 2016).
* "Iran Nuclear Deal: Stability or Threat?" moderated by
James Fallows
James Mackenzie Fallows (born August 2, 1949) is an American writer and journalist. He is a former national correspondent for ''The Atlantic.'' His work has also appeared in ''Slate (magazine), Slate'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''The New Y ...
, Senior National Correspondent for
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
.
* "Russia 2015: Economic Outlook" with Russia/Ukraine expert
Anders Åslund
Per Anders Åslund (; born 17 February 1952) is a Swedish economist and former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is also a chairman of the International Advisory Council at the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE).
His work fo ...
and Russia's former Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Aleksashenko.
* "Russia and Its Northern Neighbors: Young Leaders on the Future of Baltic Security."
* "Working with Russia: Lessons and Best Practices for Times of Conflict" with
Suzanne Massie
Suzanne Liselotte Marguerite Massie (née Rohrbach; January 8, 1931 – January 26, 2025) was an American scholar of Russian history who played an important role in the relations between Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union in the final years of t ...
, former Russia adviser to U.S. President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
.
* "Scripts of Sovereignty: The Freezing of the Russia-Ukraine Crisis and Problems of Governance in Eurasia" with
Alexander Cooley
Alexander A. Cooley is an American political scientist. He is Claire Tow Professor at Barnard College. He served as the 15th director of the Harriman Institute of Columbia University and is currently the Vice Provost for Research, Libraries and Ac ...
, Director of the
Harriman Institute
The Harriman Institute, the first academic center in the United States devoted to the interdisciplinary study of Russia and the Soviet Union, was founded at Columbia University in 1946, with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, as the Russi ...
at
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 ...
.
* "Russia Today: Evaluating the Media Environment in 2015" with
David Satter
David A. Satter (born August 1, 1947) is an American journalist and historian who writes about Russia and the Soviet Union. He has authored books and articles about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of post-Soviet Russia.
Sa ...
, the first Western journalist to be expelled from Russia since the end of the Cold War.
* "Turkey-Russia Conflict: What's Next?" with Kemal Kirisci of the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
and Anya Schmemann of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
.
CGI has hosted discussions with a number of prominent Russian figures and opposition leaders, including
Ilya Ponomarev
Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (, ; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian people, Russian-Ukrainian people, Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016.
He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in fa ...
, the writer
Dmitry Bykov
Dmitry Lvovich Bykov ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Львович Быков, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ˈlʲvovʲɪdʑ ˈbɨkəf, a=Dmitriy L'vovich Bykov.ru.vorb.oga; born 20 December 1967) is a Russian writer, poet, literary critic and journalist. ...
,
Ilya Yashin
Ilya Valeryevich Yashin (; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian opposition politician who led the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS) from 2012 to 2016, and then its Moscow branch. He was also head of the Moscow municipal district of Krasnoselsky an ...
, and the Editor-in-Chief of the independent radio station
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow () was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local radio stations), and via the Internet. From 1996 its editor- ...
,
Alexei Venediktov
Alexei Alexeyevich Venediktov (; born 18 December 1955) is a Russian journalist, former editor-in-chief, host and co-ownerAlexey Venediktov' at ''Echo of Moscow'', January 1, 2016 (in Russian) of the Echo of Moscow radio station, as well as pub ...
. CGI also worked with the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington to host
Mark Feygin
Mark Zakharovich Feygin (; born 3 June 1971) is a Russian human rights activist and former lawyer who represented Pussy Riot, Nadiya Savchenko and Leonid Razvozzhayev in Russian courts. He also served from January 1994 to December 1995 as a dep ...
, the Russian defense attorney who represented
Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...
and Ukrainian pilot
Nadiya Savchenko
Nadiya Viktorivna Savchenko (; born 11 May 1981) is a Ukrainian politician, former Army aviation pilot in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and former People's Deputy of Ukraine.
During the 2014 War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, Savchen ...
.
Rising Experts Program
CGI's Rising Experts Program is a competitive year-long program that brings together advanced students and young professionals for meetings with established experts in Washington, D.C. to discuss topics concerning Eurasia, foreign policy, and global security.
Mission and funding
CGI's mission statement is "to bring new, unconventional thinking on global affairs, fresh analysis on relations between modern world powers, particularly the United States and Russia, and critically evaluate current global challenges." According to its website, CGI does not accept
government funding
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a me ...
from the United States or abroad, and does not represent the interests of the Russian government or other Russian entities.