Anton Zhybak is a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in History at Zaporizhzhia State University, Ukraine, in 2012. After spending a decade in business marketing, he returned to academia, beginning a Master’s in War Studies at King’s College London in 2023. Following his successful graduation in 2024, he enrolled as a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies that same year. His areas of interest include Russia and post-Soviet security, as well as NATO/EU security issues in Eastern Europe. He is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, and English, with basic proficiency in French.

Research Interests

THESIS: Russia’s Turn to the East in Foreign Policy: ‘Grand Strategy’ or Retreat?

His research examines the gradual transformations of Russian foreign policy since the open confrontation with the West in the war in Ukraine up to the present moment. It covers changes in rhetoric and public image, as well as the formation of a new anti-Western identity in the field of diplomacy, including concepts of a ‘fair multi-polar world order’ and Neo-Eurasianism. His research highlights the dependency of Russian foreign policy on Gazprom’s export market, showing how the Russian Foreign Office’s rhetoric reflects the interests of the Kremlin’s top power contributor. His work argues that Russia’s foreign policy is a direct reflection of its monopolistic interest in maintaining the ‘conservative’ energy market as it is now.

Thus, the ‘return to the East’ and ‘traditional values’ are little more than a ‘white flag’, signifying Russia’s abandonment of high-tech competition with the West and China, and a return to the boastful diplomacy of the Cold War. The security threats and challenges emerging from this situation are the focus of his research.

Research Centres or Groups 

• King’s Russia Institute