Craig Kennedy has been writing a history of Russia’s oil industry since 1860 and its influence on the emergence of civil society. He has served as Chairman of Pushkin House, an independent UK cultural foundation, and in other volunteer public service roles. In addition to his historical research, Kennedy analyzes the impact of sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry. He collaborates closely with the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions and publishes some of his analysis on his Substack, Navigating Russia.

Kennedy received a BA, summa cum laude, in Slavic languages and literatures from Harvard College; an MLit in Turkic languages from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a PhD in history and Middle Eastern studies from Harvard University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. His dissertation examined the emergence of 16th-century Muscovy as an ascendant Eurasian power.