Michael McFaul is the Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies at the Department of Political Science, and Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News. Previously, he served in the Obama administration for five years, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009–2012) and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012–2014). He has authored several books, including, most recently, the New York Times bestseller From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia.