Suren Avanesyan

Suren Avanesyan is a Professorial Lecturer at GW’s Elliott School, specializing in Russian law, governance, and civil society. He previously served as Division Chief for Democracy & Governance at USAID’s Bureau for Europe & Eurasia, where he led U.S. assistance programs on rule of law, anti-corruption, and human rights across Russia and the region. He has advised Congress, co-led Russia strategy processes at the National Security Council, and helped shape bipartisan legislative initiatives on democracy and human rights. His current research examines the Russian legal profession and the defense bar, and he is the founder of the Washington Dialogue, a platform connecting U.S. policymakers and Russian civil society in exile. Avanesyan holds law degrees from Voronezh State University, the University of Wisconsin Law School, and New York University School of Law.