Alexander J. Motyl

Alexander John Motyl (Ukrainian: Олександр Мотиль; born October 21, 1953) is an American historian, political scientist, poet, writer, translator and artist-painter. He is a resident of New York City. He is professor of political science at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey and a specialist on Ukraine, Russia, and the Soviet Union.

Motyl's parents emigrated as refugees from Western Ukraine after World War II, when the region was occupied by the Soviet Union.^[1] He was born in New York City on October 21, 1953. He graduated from Regis High School in New York City in 1971. He studied at Columbia University, graduating with a BA in History in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1984.^[2] Motyl has taught at Columbia University, Lehigh University, the Ukrainian Free University, the Kyiv-Mohyla University, and Harvard University and is currently^[when?] professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark.^[3] Aside from academic work, he also writes opinion columns in publications such as Foreign Policy,^[4] 19FortyFive, and the Kyiv Post.^[5]