Nikolai Petrov is a political expert with a background in Russian domestic politics, whose 40-year career has spanned the worlds of academic research, politics, and business. Before moving to NEST Centre, he was a visiting researcher at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin, where he focused on Russian domestic politics, its impact on foreign policy, and the workings of Russia's political regime. He is also a consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, London. He leads NEST Centre’s work on Russian domestic politics, including the study of elites and decision-making processes. From 2019 to 2022, he was a senior research fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. Between 2013 and 2021, he served as a professor and Head of the Laboratory for Regional Development Assessment Methods at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Previously, he was a scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center, where he co-directed the Society and Regions project. From 1990 to 1995, he served as an advisor to the Russian parliament, government, and presidential administration.