Maksim Samorukov

@SamorukovM

Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Berlin, Germany carnegiemoscow.org/experts/1031 Joined June 2022

104 Following 1.2K Followers 65 Posts

Latest posts 5

Serbia’s new leadership may be genuine in pro-Russian sympathies, but their strive to fight corruption and cronyism is incompatible with Russia’s preferred way of doing business. My take on Ru-Serbia relations after Vucic carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia…

carnegieendowment.org Vučić’s Downfall in Serbia Is Fatal to Russia’s Influence in the Balkans The new Serbian leadership may have promised to keep on cooperating with Russia, but soon they will have to make a choice between fighting corruption and sealing lucrative deals with Moscow. The two...

Maksim Samorukov @SamorukovM Apr 21

Radev’s statements on Russia may look jarring from Brussels, but to many Bulgarians, they sound balanced and are perceived as merely a pledge to concentrate on domestic issues. My piece on what Radev’s triumph means for Moscow for @BalkanInsight
balkaninsight.com/2026/04/21/rus…

balkaninsight.com Russian Despatch: Looking for a New Orban in the Balkans Moscow has lost its main ally inside the EU with the defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Can the victory of Bulgaria’s Rumen Radev provide the Kremlin with a new disruptor for the European bloc?

Maksim Samorukov @SamorukovM Apr 15

Orban’s departure creates certain inconvenience for Kremlin, but EU tensions with US and record energy prices mean that conditions for pressuring Russia are increasingly unfavorable, regardless of who Hu’s leader is. My take on Hu’s vote for @CEIP_Politika
carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia…

carnegieendowment.org Will Hungary’s New Leader Really Change EU Policy on Russia and Ukraine? Orbán created an image for himself as virtually the only opponent of aid to Ukraine in the entire EU. But in reality, he was simply willing to use his veto to absorb all the backlash, allowing other...

Maksim Samorukov @SamorukovM Jun 3, 2025

Why would Russia punish Vucic with accusations of betrayal right after he went to such lengths to attend May 9 parade in Moscow? Because it wasn't a punishment, but perhaps an expression of gratitude, as I explain for @BalkanInsight balkaninsight.com/2025/06/03/has…

balkaninsight.com Has Russia Really Turned Against Its Useful Serbian Ally? Russia’s foreign intelligence service might have rebuked Serbia for indirectly sending ammunition to Ukraine, but there is little sign Moscow is about to abandon President Aleksandar Vucic.

Maksim Samorukov @SamorukovM Oct 18, 2024

Betting on Shor, Russia repeats its old strategy of building influence through oligarchs as in Ukraine, Georgia, etc. But in today’s Moldova it promises little but another failure. I examine faults in Ru’s approach for @ForeignPolicy
foreignpolicy-com.ceip.idm.oclc.org/2024/10/16/mol…