Natia Seskuria

Natia Seskuria is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). She is also a Founder and Executive Director of the Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS), a Tbilisi-based think tank and an official partner of RUSI. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at  Harvard University, where she is writing a book on the  Russian-Georgian conflict, set to be published by Hurt in 2025.

She is also an Associate Professor in Russian politics. Her research focuses on Russia’s domestic and foreign policy, including Russia’s relations with its neighbours, strategic approach to occupied regions, relations with the West and the use of active measures. She also specialises in conflicts and security dynamics within  the South Caucasus and the Black Sea region. 

Natia is a public speaker, contributing to leading defence and security conferences and discussions and regularly appears as a commentator on major media outlets including BBC, CNN, France 24 and Al Jazeera. She also  advises the private sector and governments on political, strategic and operational risks related to Russia, the South Caucasus and Black Sea region. Natia has authored numerous publications and delivered lectures on topics related to Russian politics, international security, and regional conflicts.

Previously, Natia held an advisory position at Chatham House, was a Black Sea Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) and served at Georgia’s National Security Council and Ministry of Defence. She also worked at RUSI’s International Security Studies Department, where her work focused on security dynamics in Russia and Eurasia. 

Natia holds an MA in Politics, Security and Integration and a BA (Hons) in Politics and East European Studies from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London (UCL).