About
Janusz Bugajski

Janusz Bugajski, the author of Failed State

Biography

Janusz Bugajski (born September 23, 1954 , Nantwich, Cheshire, England) is a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC.

He is also the host of the television show “Hodina Bugaisky”, which is broadcast in the Balkans. He previously served as a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, DC and served as director of the New European Democracy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Life and Сareer

From 1981 to 1983, Bugajski worked as a consultant on Polish affairs at BBC television in London. In 1984-1985, he worked as a senior research analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Munich , Germany. In 1986, he joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, where he established the Eastern European Division. Bugajski served as Associate Director from 1986 to 1993, and in 1993 became Director of East European Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

Bugaisky has worked as a consultant on Eastern European affairs for organizations and US government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of Defense, the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Institute of Free Trade Unions (AFL-CIO ), the Council on International Studies and Exchanges (IREX) and BBC Television in London.

He regularly testifies before the US Congress and is also the chair of the Southern and Central European Studies Program at the Diplomatic Service Institute of the US State Department.

Jamestown Foundation Senior Fellow.

Board member and one of the main speakers of the Forum of Free Nations of Post Russia” (2022-present).

Awards and Translations

Janusz Bugajski has received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1998).

He was awarded the Medal of Gratitude by Polish Free Trade Union Solidarity (2010) and Warsaw University awarded his book Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture the best foreign language book in 2023.

  • Failed State was translated into Ukrainian in May 2023 and widely distributed to key Ukrainian officials and to major bookshops around the country. https://failedstate.com.ua
  • The book has been widely distributed in Washington DC to US Congresspeople and selected officials in the US administration. Jamestown sent about 400 copies to congressional staffs and committees, as well as to various embassies, think tanks, and research organizations.
  • The book won the Warsaw University Award as the most important foreign language book of 2022 and the author was invited to Warsaw for an awards ceremony at the University in March 2023.
  • The author conducted a tour of four Ukrainian cities (Kyiv, Bucha, Rivne, Lviv) in May 2023 to promote the book in universities, research institutes, and bookshops.
  • A Russian translation of the book was published in Kyiv, Ukraine in August 2023 and is being distributed inside Russia.
  • A Polish translation of the book was published in Warsaw by Warsaw University in December 2023 and the author conducted two book tours in June 2024 and September 2024 in several Polish cities (Warsaw, Lublin, Wrocław, Karpacz), and in Vilnius, Lithuania.
  • A Montenegrin translation of the book was published in December 2024 and the author conducted a book launch at the Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature in Cetinje.
  • A long article based on the Failed State book entitled “Mapping Russia’s Devolution” was published in Ukraine during 2023 in the following languages: English, Ukrainian, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Latvian, Lithuanian, Arabic, Mandarin, Crimean Tatar. You can read the article or choose the translation here.

Russian Regime Attacks on Book and Author

The book Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture, the author, and the Jamestown Foundation have been regularly attacked by Russian officials and the state media, including directly by Nikolai Patrushev, the chairman of Russia’s National Security Council, former head of the FSB, and a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.

 

The author was placed on the Russian state sanctions list for US citizens as a result of his work on Russia’s rupture. These are some of the statements and articles on this prestigious “award”:

 

The author’s work on Russia’s failures has stirred official reactions in Russia and among Moscow’s supporters in the West, including short films that were aired on Russian state television in response to his articles. It portrayed Bugajski as a mastermind in breaking up states and claimed he was seeking to fracture Russia at the behest of the US government. The media campaign indicated that anxieties about state fracture are growing among Russia’s officials. The author continues to track Russia’s domestic and foreign responses to the book and its impact. This is a selection of anti-Bugajski TV and print attacks recorded thus far:

Presentations, Roundtables, and Lectures

  • March 3, 2022: Presentation on Russia-Ukraine relations and the future of Russia at the “US-Ukraine Security Dialogue: Gauging Ukraine’s Capacity to Defend Itself” in Washington DC.
  • May 18, 2022: Presentation at the European Parliament, Brussels, on the Circassian Genocide and Current Implications.
  • June 16, 2022: Presentation at the US-Ukraine Yearly Summit, University Club, Washington DC.
  • July 23, 2022: Presentation at the Forum of Free Peoples of Russia, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • September 24, 2022: Presentation at the Forum of Free Peoples of Russia, Gdańsk, Poland.
  • November 2022: Presentation at the Ichkeria Chechen Congress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFahoYSknQ4
  • December 8, 2022: Presentation at the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum, Helsingborg, Sweden, author presentation.
  • 2022-2023: Presentations at several classes for US diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute, Department of State, including Area Studies classes on Europe, Russia, East Europe, and South Central Europe.
  • January 22, 2023: Keynote address at the Ukraine Unity Day, Chicago, presenting my book.
  • January 29, 2023: Presentation at the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum, European Parliament, Brussels.
  • January 31, 2023, https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/photo/ecr-event-the-imperial-russia-conquer-genocide-colonisation-press-conference_20230131_EP-144268B_EVD_191
  • January 31, 2023: Speech, European Parliament, Brussels, organized by the European Conservatives and Reformers group, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEhvt4zJ_8&t=56s
  • February 14, 2023: Presentation, Hudson Institute Conference: https://youtube.com/watch?v=lcO7-TlmZHc&t=1723s
  • March 24-29, 2023: Lectures and roundtables on the book in Warsaw University, Poland.
  • April 25, 2023: Presentation, Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum, Hudson Institute, Washington DC.
  • May 8-13, 2023: Lectures and roundtables on the book in four Ukraine cities – Kyiv, Lviv, Rivne, and Bucha.
  • June 14, 2023: Presentation at the US-Ukraine Yearly Summit, University Club, Washington DC.
  • June 27, 2023: European Parliament Book Presentation: https://we.tl/t-otFEOGww6g
  • July 7, 2023: Panelist on Ukraine at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, Friday 7 July 2023

“Long-term Peace Solutions for Ukraine.”

Media and Internet Interviews, Reviews, and Mentions

Bulgarian dubbed https://youtu.be/buc_Zg0a8p8