Alexei Mikhailovich Vasiliev

Alexei Vasiliev
Alexei Vasiliev in 2006 at the Africa Partnership Forum
Born	(1939-04-26) April 26, 1939 (age 78) Leningrad, Soviet Union
Residence	Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Russian
Fields	History of North Africa and West Asia, modern processes in African countries, Russia in the Middle East
Institutions	Institute for African Studies
Alma mater	MGIMO

Alexei Mikhailovich Vasiliev (published also under the names Alexey Vasiliev and Alexei Vassiliev; Russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Васи́льев; born April 26, 1939, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a prominent Russian Arabist and Africanist. Dr. of Science (1981-), Professor (1991-), full member (academician) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) since 2011.

Honorary President of the Institute for African Studies of the RAS (2015-). Director of the Institute for African Studies (1992-2015). Head of the Chair for African and Arab Studies of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (2013-).

Special Representative of Russian President for Relations with African leaders (2006-2011). President of the Centre for Civilizational and Regional Studies of the RAS. Chairman of the RAS Scientific Council for the problems of economic, socio-political and cultural development of African countries. Member of the International Security Section of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Member of the Academic-expert Council under the Speaker of the Council of Federation (Senate) of the Russian Federation. Member of the Foreign Policy Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Editor-in-chief of Asia and Africa Today journal (1998-). Member of the editorial council of Social Evolution & History journal. Member of the Russian Pugwash Committee under the Presidium of the RAS.

Vasiliev was born on April 26, 1939 in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the family of a serviceman. In 1956 he entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He interned at the University of Cairo (1960-1961). In 1962 he graduated from the Department of Oriental Studies of MGIMO and was assigned to the Pravda newspaper as an assistant political commentator. In 1967 Vasiliev was sent to Vietnam as Pravda's own war correspondent. At that time he also traveled to guerrilla-controlled zones in Laos. In 1969-1971 he worked for Pravda in Moscow, occasionally traveling abroad to report on events in "hot spots". From 1971 to 1975 A.M. Vasiliev worked as a Pravda correspondent in Ankara, Turkey. He was responsible for the region that included Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. He also traveled to Syria to report on the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. In 1975-1979 he worked as Pravda's own correspondent in Egypt and was also responsible for Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Ethiopia. From 1979 to 1983 he worked as a columnist on international relations at the central office of Pravda in Moscow. From his very first days in the Pravda newspaper Vasiliev combined journalism and literary work with academic research. In 1983 A.M. Vasiliev was appointed Deputy Director of the Institute for African Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1992 he was elected Director of the Institute. Subsequently he was repeatedly re-elected. In 2015 he was elected Honorary President of the Institute for African Studies.