He holds a Ph.D. in Global History, as well as B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University. He was an Associate Professor of the History of China at Moscow State University and has been a visiting professor at a number of institutions, including Amherst College, Yale University, University of Delaware, and Feng Chia University in Taiwan. Dr. Kozyrev has also been a member of the Russian think tank at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Analytic Center and an advisor to the Moscow City Government on Sino-Russian relations. His research focuses on contemporary politics of post-communist countries, and he is particularly interested in the socio-economic transformation of China in the 20th century.