Vladimir Socor (born 3 August 1945 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Vladimir Socor - Curriculum Vitae
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

) is a

Romanian-American Romanian Americans () are Americans who have Romanian ancestry. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, 425,738 Americans indicated Romanian as their first or second ancestry, however other sources provide higher estimates, which a ...

political analyst of East European affairs for the

Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

and its ''Eurasia Daily Monitor'', currently residing in Munich, Germany. Author information in Jamestown Foundation: Vladimir Socor
Socor's main specialization focuses on the political affairs and the

ethnic conflict An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's position within so ...

s of the former

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

republics and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

Early life and education

Vladimir Socor is the son of Matei Socor, who, as head of the

Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (), informally referred to as Radio Romania (), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM broadcasting, FM and AM broadcasting, AM, and webcast, internet national and local radio channels. ...

-was involved in the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

's propaganda apparatus, according to the findings of the Tismăneanu Commission. Socor graduated from the #28 High School, also known at that time as the "Petru Groza" High School originally named "School with Russian Language Instruction" in Bucharest currently the Tudor Vianu National High School of Computer Science. He then received a B.A. in History from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, and after leaving Romania legally in 1972, he received a Master of Philosophy in East European History 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 ...

in 1977.

Career

He worked as an analyst for the

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

Research Institute in Munich (1983–1994) and at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, D.C. (1995–2002). Between 2002 and 2004, Socor worked as a senior fellow at the

Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS) was an Israel-based think tank with an affiliated office in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1984 by its president, Professor Robert Loewenberg. Political stance In the US, IASPS ...

in Washington, D.C. Since 2000, he has contributed articles to the European edition of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. Socor is also critical of Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's policies regarding the Post-Soviet space and their frozen conflictsmost notably in the separatist enclaves of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' journalist Edward Lucas describes Socor as "a hawkish pro-Moldovan." Vladimir Socor was involved in the polemics with the former head of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) mission in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, William Hill, during which Socor criticized OSCE policies in regard to Moldova, and in return was accused by Hill of fallacies and outrageous fabrications.Ambassador William Hill’s Response To Vladimir Socor
''

Eurasia Daily Monitor The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

'', 1 August 2005

Selected reports

* * "The Workers' Protest in Brașov: Assessment and Aftermath", Romania Background Report 231, Radio Free Europe Research, 4 December 1987, pp. 3–10.
Kremlin Refining Policy in 'Post-Soviet Space'

, February 8, 2005
Russian organizations in Transnistria campaign for a second Kaliningrad
Eurasia Daily Monitor, August 11, 2006
Kyiv changing ideas, mixing signals on Odessa-Brody oil pipeline
Eurasia Daily Monitor November 16, 2006
Trans-Black Sea pipeline can bring Caspian gas to Europe
Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume 3, Number 226, December 7, 2006

References

External links

Articles by Vladimir Socor
at Eurasia Daily Monitor
Vladimir Socor
at Moldova Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Socor, Vladimir 1945 births Living people Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian people of Armenian descent Romanian people of Jewish descent American male journalists American people of Armenian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent University of Bucharest alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Journalists from Bucharest Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Romanian emigrants to Germany American emigrants to Germany Tudor Vianu National College of Computer Science alumni