Team

Alexander
Smotrov

Practice Lead, CEE, Russia and Eurasia
[email protected]
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Alexander Smotrov

Alexander is Global Counsel’s Practice 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.

Global Counsel Team

Our team have worked in national governments, international and EU institutions and across a wide range of policy fields. They have a wide range of policy specialisms and speak more than twenty languages.

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Careers

Global Counsel is a growing company. You can find the opportunities we are currently recruiting for here.

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Latest Insights by Alexander Smotrov

General Politics

Navigating Russian and Chinese “vaccine diplomacy” in the CEE and Western Balkans

General Politics

The covid-19 vaccine rollout in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Western Balkans, has not been immune to politicisation. Vaccination is seen as a powerful tool to accelerate post-covid economic recovery alongside stimulus packages, but with Russia and China getting involved, some compare it to the debate on national security concerns about critical infrastructure…

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Bye, .BY: how Belarus could lose its lucrative IT industry

TMT

The nationwide protests and industrial strikes that followed the controversial presidential elections in Belarus continue. The outcome of this unprecedented expression of public dissatisfaction with President Alexander Lukashenko and his grip on the country is, however, not yet clear. Lukashenko may still cling on to power – at least for the time-being - relying on his…

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General Politics

Values and transparency

General Politics

The new Commission faces a complex European political landscape. Eurosceptic parties from many member states will put pressure on their governments after performing strongly in May’s European Parliament election, even if they are struggling to translate this into power in the parliament itself. Tensions have increased between eastern and western member states on migration…

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View all Insights by Alexander Smotrov

Global Counsel Team

Our team have worked in national governments, international and EU institutions and across a wide range of policy fields. They have a wide range of policy specialisms and speak more than twenty languages.

Read more

Careers

Global Counsel is a growing company. You can find the opportunities we are currently recruiting for here.

Read more