Andrew Carrigan Kuchins is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, and former head of

American University of Central Asia The American University of Central Asia (AUCA) (russian: Американский университет в Центральной Азии; ky, Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университети), formerly the ''Kyrgyz ...

. He has held senior positions at several

think tanks A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...

, including Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...

and

Carnegie Moscow Center The Carnegie Moscow Center () was a Moscow-based think tank that focuses on domestic and foreign policy. It was established in 1994 as a regional affiliate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It was the number one think tank in Ce ...

. Kuchins has written numerous books, articles, book reviews. He has been interviewed on mainstream and academic outlets including as

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

and CS Monitor. Additionally, Kuchins has given testimony before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Early life and education

Kuchins was born in 1959. He holds a Ph.D. in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

and an M.A. in International Studies from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of th ...

, a B.A. in

Russian Studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics, history, culture, economics, and languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often grouped under Soviet and Communist studies. Russian studies should not be confused with the study of ...

from Amherst College, and a Certificate of Proficiency in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Language from the

Pushkin Institute The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute and its dormitory tower, a building made out of prefabricated concrete slabs. The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute (russian: Государственный институт русского � ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Think Tank and Academic Career

From 2000 through 2007 Kuchins held a series of positions with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, including as Director of the

and Director of Carnegie's Russian and Eurasia Program. From 2007 to 2015 he was Director of the Russia and Eurasian Program at the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Kuchins then served as Senior Fellow and research professor at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at the

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at bot ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

American University of Central Asia

In February 2019, the Board of Trustees of the

(AUCA) announced that Kuchins would become President of the university starting in May 2019. The American University of Central Asia is an international, multidisciplinary learning community in the American liberal arts tradition affiliated with

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

. In April 2021, Kyrgyz police summoned Kuchins for questioning regarding the alleged importation of unauthorized narcotics.

"The state-sanctioned battle against progressive elements in Kyrgyzstan deepened over the weekend with the police summoning the American head of a Western-style university in Bishkek for questioning."

Despite the charges, there were "indications security services are involved in smear exercises," and according to the AUCA board of trustees "the medicine involved is approved for use in the United States, was prescribed for his use by his doctor in the U.S. for a medical condition … and was sent to him by mail from one of the largest U.S. pharmacies in the ordinary course of its business." Shortly after, over 50 academics issued a statement in support of Andrew Kuchins and criticized the charges:

"It is with alarm that we have been monitoring what strongly appears to be an effort to smear one of Kyrgyzstan’s leading academic institutions, the Bishkek-based American University of Central Asia (AUCA). This effort is most prominently symbolized by a criminal case recently launched against AUCA President Andrew Kuchins, an esteemed and long-time member of PONARS Eurasia known for his support of academic freedom and the broadly cross-national scholarly community. In the strongest possible terms, we call on the relevant authorities to immediately drop the drug-dealing charge against Kuchins—a meritless case that risks discrediting the country’s law-enforcement system in international eyes—and to restore Kyrgyzstan’s long-standing status as the Central Asian region’s leader in academic freedom. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, and we stand united with scholars around the world in urging a reversal of concerning trends in Kyrgyzstan."

At the June 2021 virtual commencement, Dr. Kuchins announced that he would be stepping down as President of AUCA and returning to the United States. The board of the trustees of the university thanked him for his service, particularly during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic. July 2021, Kuchins was fined 60,000 Kyrgyz soms (approximately US$710) and expelled from Kyrgyzstan.

Personal life

Kuchins is married to Lilia Torshina. He has two children from a previous marriage and lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He speaks Russian, French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Kuchins is a member of the

Metropolitan Club (Washington, D.C.) The Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington is a private club in Washington, D.C. ''The New York Times'' called it "Washington's oldest and most exclusive club". History On October 1, 1863, six U.S. Treasury Department officials met to dis ...

Select Publications

*“China Policy towards Russian and Europe” in David B.H. Denoon, ed., China's Grand Strategy: A Roadmap to Global Power, New York University Press, June 15, 2021. *“The Energy Factor in Russia’s Asia Pivot” in Mike Mochizuki and Deepa Olalapoly, eds., Energy Security in Asia and Eurasia, Routledge, 2016. *“Russian Power Rising and Falling Simultaneously” in Ashley Tellis, ed., Strategic Asia: 2015-2016: Foundations of Power in the Asia-Pacific, National Bureau of Asian Research, 2015. *“Both Epicenter and Periphery: U.S. Interests in Central Asia” in David B.H. Denoon, ed., China, the United States, and the Future of Central Asia, New York University Press, 2015. *“Russia’s Contested National Identity and Foreign Policy” with Igor Zevelev in Henry R. Nau and Deepa M. Ollapally, eds., Worldviews of Aspiring Powers: Domestic Foreign Policy Debates in China, India, Iran, Japan, and Russia, New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2012. *“The Obama Administration’s Reset Button for Russia,” in Russia: The Challenges of Transformation,

Dmitri Trenin Dmitri Vitalyevich Trenin () is a member of . He was the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a Russian think tank. A former colonel of Russian military intelligence, Trenin served for 21 years in the Soviet Army and Russian Ground Forces, be ...

and Piotr Dutkiewiz, New York: New York University Press, 2011. *Russia after the Global Financial Crisis with

Anders Aslund Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

and Sergei Guriev, Washington: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011. *The Russia Balance Sheet with Anders Aslund, Washington: Peterson Institute/CSIS, 2009. *"The Obama administration's 'reset button' for Russia", The Obama Moment, EU Institute for Security Studies, 2009. *Russia: The Next Yen Years, Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2004. *Rough Crossing: Democracy in Russia, Moscow: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2004. *Russia after the Fall, Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002. *Russia and Japan: An Unresolved Dilemma between Distant Neighbors with Tsuyoshi Hasegawa and Jonathan Haslam, Berkeley: University of California/International and Area Studies, 1993.

Select Professional Activities

*Member,

Valdai Discussion Club The Valdai Discussion Club is a Moscow-based think tank and discussion forum. It was established in 2004 and is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place. In 2014, the managem ...

*Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, 2007-2015 *Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, 2001-2002 *Member of editorial board for Pro et Contra, Demokratizatsia and Washington Profile. *Member of Advisory Committee for Project on Basic Research and Higher Education (jointly managed by the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation and the Russian Federation Ministry of Education), 1997- 2003.

Congressional Testimony

*Statement to the U.S House of Representatives, Homeland Security *Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, “Terrorism in the Caucasus”, Hearing, April 3, 2014. *“Prospects for Engagement with Russia”, testimony before the

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid ...

, March 19, 2009. *“Russian Democracy and Civil Society: Back to the Future,” testimony before the

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and o ...

, February 8, 2006.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchins, Andrew Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Universities in Bishkek International relations scholars Russian studies scholars Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Center for Strategic and International Studies Georgetown University faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Johns Hopkins University alumni Amherst College alumni 1959 births Living people People from California