Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club
In 1985-1991, Andrey Bystritskiy was engaged in research as a Senior Fellow at the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. He has been in the media industry since 1991, serving as a member of the board of Radio of Russia and as an author and host of radio and television broadcasts. From 1993 to 1996, he headed sociological research at the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK).
Between 1996 and 1997, he was in charge of the Society Department at the Itogi (Russian Newsweek) magazine. In 1997-1998, he held the position of Deputy Director General for Information at TV Tsentr. The following year, he worked as a Producer at the BBC Russian news service. In 1999, he also joined the Organizing Committee of the Unofficial Moscow Festival as one of its Co-Chairs, served on the Editorial Board of the Moscow Alternative newspaper, and was appointed Chairman of the Mayak State Radio Broadcasting Company. In 2000, Bystritskiy became Director General of the Vesti State Television Company.
From 2000 to 2008, he served as Deputy Director General of VGTRK and Director of the Department of Information Programmes for the Russia TV Channel. Concurrently, from 2000 to 2013, he was a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of Euronews. Between 2005 and 2007, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Apologia monthly magazine. From 2008 to 2014, he held the position of Chairman of the Voice of Russia State Radio Company.
Since 2014, he has been Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics and Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club.
Andrey Bystritskiy is a Professor and holds a Candidate of Sciences degree in Pedagogy (1989). A member of the Union of Writers, he was awarded the Order of Honour in 2007 and received a Commendation from the President of the Russian Federation in 2024.
He is the author of several books and numerous publications in newspapers and magazines.
Executive Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club
From 1997 to 2002, Nadezhda Lavrentieva served as Head of the Budget Planning Department at NTV Plus, Russia’s first satellite television broadcaster, where she was in charge of its financial activities. Between 2003 and 2014, she held the position of Deputy Director General of the RIA Novosti News Agency, overseeing economy and business analysis. In 2014, she was an Advisor to the Director General of the TASS Russian News Agency.
Since 2014, she has been Executive Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club.
Nadezhda Lavrentieva is an Honoured Economist of the Russian Federation, a title awarded by Presidential Decree.
In 2025, she was decorated with the Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 1st Class.
Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club
Fyodor Lukyanov was an international journalist from 1990 to 2002, collaborating with numerous newspapers, radio, and television broadcasters. Since 2002, he has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairsjournal. In 2012, he was appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, one of Russia’s oldest NGOs.
He has held the position of Research Director for the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club since 2015.
Lukyanov is also a Research Professor at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. One of Russia’s most prominent experts in the field of international relations and foreign policy and the author of numerous articles in Russian and international media, he was a laureate of the Russian Government Award for contribution to international journalism in 2011. Since 2020, he has been the host of the Mezhdunarodnoye Obozrenie (International Review) television programme on the Russia 24 channel.
In 2025, he was decorated with the Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 1st Class.