Team

Alexander
Smotrov

Practice Director
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Alexander is Global Counsel’s lead on Central & Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia. Before joining GC, Alexander worked for ten years as chief UK correspondent at the leading Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, covering UK and international politics and Russian businesses globally. Prior to this, he worked as a journalist in Moscow and Prague.

At GC, Alexander leads multi-market projects in CEE and Eurasia, including policy analysis and monitoring for corporate clients. He advises international clients on Russian market entry, the impact of Russian sanctions and navigating Russian policymaking. 

Recent examples of his work include:

  • Advising leading global technology companies on the impact of the changing political and regulatory environment in Russia and Eurasia on their operations and compliance.
  • Providing investors with cross-cutting political monitoring, analysis and due diligence on Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia and other CEE markets.
  • Developing tailored programmes and preparation for clients ranging from a leading global electric vehicles manufacturer to an international sporting event organising committee - on market trips and international events such as WEF and SPIEF.

Latest Insights by Alexander Smotrov

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A year of war in Ukraine - retaliation, relocation, and reconstruction

General Policy

This week on the Global Counsel Podcast, Practice Director Alexander Smotrov, Associate Alexander van der Wusten, and Associate Magnus Obermann discuss the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the business sector after a year of fighting. What does Ukraine's resilience mean for rebuilding efforts, why are businesses struggling to fully untangle…

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What’s at stake in Central Asia from the war in Ukraine?

General Policy

The Russia-Ukraine war was the elephant in the room at the inaugural Tashkent International Investment Forum in late March. While not mentioned directly by the speakers, it was clear to anyone that the conflict will impact Uzbekistan as it tries to position itself as a gateway for foreign corporates and investors to the rest of Central Asia.

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