Maxim is a first-year Master of International Affairs student at Columbia SIPA, coming from the Czech Republic. His concentration is in International Security Policy and his regional specialization is in Russia and the Former Soviet States. Maxim graduated with a degree in War Studies at King’s College London and spent a year at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. In the past, he interned for the Czech government, including the Ministry of Defence, the Czech Embassy in London, and the Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to NATO.

Maxim’s academic interests in the region include post-Soviet security, Russian foreign policy, NATO and NATO-Russia relations, energy security, disinformation, contemporary warfare, emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs), and Ukraine. His undergraduate thesis focused on the roots of Russia’s foreign policy shift toward the West between 1991 and 2012. Maxim is a Student Scholar at Columbia’s Institute of Global Politics and serves as the President of the Columbia European Union Student Association.