Dr. Sagdeev is Senior Director of Stonebridge and advises the firm s clients on issues involving Russia and Central Asia. He has played an active role in U.S.-Russian and Central Asian relations for decades and enjoys high-level relationships across the region. An internationally recognized physicist, he was one of the youngest scientists ever elected to the USSR Academy of Sciences and was a leader in the Russian space sector. Dr. Sagdeev also helped shape the transformation of the former Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War, first as an Adviser to President Mikhail Gorbachev and then as a reformer in the Congress of People's Deputies. He is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland.